


Xenoblade Chronicles: Journey of the Holy Flare

by WrestleCrazyGamer



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: AU To Cover My Ass, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26647813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrestleCrazyGamer/pseuds/WrestleCrazyGamer
Summary: Ray has always wanted for nothing in life, living quietly in Fonsett with Rex, Pyra, and Mythra. When his brother returns from a long trip, and with a Driver of his own no less, Ray receives a revelation that changes everything for him. Spirited away to New Mor Ardain, he will soon find himself and his new Driver wrapped up in a plot that threatens the very existence of everything.
Relationships: Hikari | Mythra/Homura | Pyra/Pneuma/Rex
Kudos: 2





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> *This story takes an interpretation of the ending where Mythra and Pyra are now two separate Blades (insert "that bastard is dual wielding" joke here), so AU really is covering my ass here. Among a few other things that I literally just thought would be cool.

It was a peaceful morning as a teenage boy with shoulder length red hair bearing two long bangs crowning his face awoke from slumber. A red Core Crystal the same shape as Pyra and Mythra’s was sparkling in the middle of his chest. Birds were singing outside as he stretched. He then got dressed in white and grey sneakers, blue jeans with a black belt to hold them up, and a white t-shirt. When he left his room he saw Pyra cooking something that smelled delicious in the kitchen.

“Morning mom.” he greeted her.

“Good morning, Ray. Sleep well?” Pyra smiled cheerfully.

“Yeah. Well… good but not too good. Everything was nice until I had that dream again.” Ray replied scratching the back of his head.

“The one where you’re fighting someone clad in armor?” Pyra asked.

“Yeah. It makes me afraid that it might be more than just a dream…” he answered with a nod.

“By the way, your brother should be coming home today. I hear that he’s got a Driver now and is eager to show her to us.” Pyra told him.

“He’s always had more luck than me, so I’m not surprised he found a driver first.” Ray smiled.

“You also don’t leave Fonsette.” Mythra’s voice spoke as she entered in Salvager gear with Rex behind her.

“Morning Mythra, you too dad.” Ray greeted them trying to ignore the comment.

“How did salvaging go?” Pyra asked as she began plating what she was cooking.

“Well I can say that it’s definitely harder than Rex makes it look.” Mythra sighed.

“Practice makes perfect, you know. I face planted on the surface my first time. You’ll be good at it in no time.” Rex chuckled.

“Mythra tried Salvaging?” Ray asked.

“She finally got sick of waiting for him to resurface.” Pyra giggled.

“The challenge was finding a salvaging outfit in my size.” Mythra sighed.

“Ray had the dream again.” Pyra told them.

“The armored fighter dream?” Rex asked.

“He’s been having that dream a lot lately.” Mythra commented as she washed her hands.

“So when is Ventus supposed to be home?” Ray asked.

“His letter didn’t say. Just that he was coming home to visit.” Pyra answered.

“I think it’d do you some good to go see the world yourself, Ray. You might find a Driver yourself.” Mythra smiled.

“Do I really need a Driver?” Ray asked in an agitated tone.

“It makes self-defense easier, that's for sure. Not just anyone can be your Driver though. It needs to be someone you trust with your life.” Mythra answered.

“There’s no rush is there? Not like the world’s going to end just like that if he doesn’t.” Rex chuckled.

“Rex is right, he can take as long as he likes. Now everyone wash up before our food gets cold.” Pyra smiled.

After breakfast Ray climbed up to the roof of the house to stare at the clouds. Every day now it seemed he was teased about finding a Driver. Sure there was a lot to see in the world that even his parents had no clue was there, but what would be the point in going? He liked his quiet life in Fonsette. Ray’s train of thought got interrupted by a cold drink being placed on his forehead.

“Cold!” he exclaimed, sitting up catching it perfectly. 

“Three years and you haven’t changed a bit.”

Laughing to his left was a young man the same age as Ray with long flowing golden hair held in a braided ponytail. He was dressed in red cross-trainers, blue jeans with a silver belt, a long-sleeved blue button-up shirt, and a white overcoat. It could only be his half-brother, Ventus.

“Ven… don’t scare me like that…” Ray grumbled.

“That’s a fine hello after three years. Come on, no hug for your big bro?” Ventus joked with a grin.

“I haven’t hugged you since we were kids.” Ray scoffed, opening his drink.

“That’s not true, you hugged me before I left. You said not to get myself killed, and to bring you a souvenir.” Ventus snickered.

“So, where’s your Driver? Mom said you had one now.” Ray asked.

“She’s getting the family grilling inside, you know how parents are. Her name is Siren. Some irony with mom’s Artifice huh?” Ventus answered.

“So are you happy having a Driver?” Ray asked.

“Well, I can’t vouch for every Blade out there, but I’m enjoying it so far. Siren has four brothers, so for her it was either learn to use a sword or get stuck with all the chores. Plus she was the only one of her siblings able to use my power without almost taking their own head off.” Ventus answered.

“Your power is that strong?” Ray asked curiously.

“Well I had never let others try and use my power until I left. Turns out, my power can be pretty destructive if you can’t control it. She managed to tame it and has only been getting better since we met.” he answered.

“Can I even have a Driver without a weapon to give them?” Ray asked Ventus, making him get a dark look for just a second.

“Of course you can. I mean, you can whip one up from your Core Crystal. It can take any shape you want, really.” Ventus told him.

“Maybe… I’ll give it a shot…” Ray sighed.

Ventus left the roof and his expression became angry. He then clenched his fists and punched the wall putting a fist-sized hole into it. 

“ _ He doesn’t remember. They lied to me. They lied right to my face and I believed it. So if they won’t tell him… I’ll show him… _ ” he cursed under his breath.

Eventually Ray came down from the roof and proceeded inside to meet Siren. She looked a tad older than Ventus with bobbed black hair dressed in a Mor Ardain military officer uniform. On her back was Ventus’s Aegis Sword, a weapon that definitely requires both hands to wield properly. The weapon resembled two swords intertwining to form a helix-shaped blade. The blade itself was white on the inner blade and marine blue on the outside cutting edges. The guard was a shimmering golden color and looked like wings folding around an angel. The hilt had a v-shape to the grip’s blue weave pattern, and the pommel was a small statuette of an angel. Siren herself was beautiful and possessed an air of strength that betrays her somewhat slim frame.

“She said the two of you met when she was being attacked by bandits. Is that really true?” Pyra asked Ventus.

“She says attacked, but they were just in a circle around her. I bet if she’d wanted to she could have driven their faces into the dirt.” Ventus laughed.

“Says the guy who butted in mid-interrogation when he noticed one was a Driver.” Siren scoffed.

“So what will you be doing now that she’s your Driver?” Rex asked them.

“I’ll be going wherever she goes. She’s not a grunt soldier, but Ardain Special Forces. In other words, we’ll be given the jobs too dangerous for the military to handle.” Ventus smiled in response.

“You two be careful out there you hear?” Mythra told him.

“Actually I reconsidered your offer. I think we can spare some time to wait until tomorrow to take off again.” Ventus beamed.

“You sure? You were pretty against staying too long when we got up at the inn this morning.” Siren asked him.

“Well I changed my mind. Plus I want to gloat a little about how awesome the outside world is to Rayray here.” Ventus nodded pulling Ray close with one arm.

“Hey, cut it out!” Ray laughed trying to escape.

The day went by fast with many of the locals dropping by to say hello to Ventus. When they were little Ventus and Ray were the village troublemakers, though they always meant well with their antics. Ventus got a grand send off when he went looking for a Driver too. With the mastermind sibling gone, Ray took to a more laid back lifestyle. 

Early morning came with light rainfall. Ray came to by being shaken gently by Ventus, whose core crystal was shining a golden light in the dim room. He had a serious look on his face, which as kids meant he had a plan or something up his sleeve.

“What’s going on…? It’s not even sunup yet...” Ray groaned, rubbing his eyes.

“You’re coming with me for a bit. Get dressed.” he ordered.

Ray begrudgingly obeyed and followed him out to the graveyard holding an umbrella. They were standing in front of a grave for someone named “Maria Ellwood” for some reason. Ray was confused but Ventus had a very serious look on his face.

“Do you recognize the name?” he asked.

“Nope. Can I go back to bed now?” Ray replied tiredly.

“She was your Driver.” Ventus told him.

“I think I’d remember if I had a Driver.” Ray scoffed.

“The Black Crater just outside town no one goes near? That used to be the schoolhouse she taught in. We were her first students. She had exceptional ability as a Driver, having ten Blades at her side to help run the place.” Ventus explained.

“Ven you’re kind of scaring me right now…” Ray told him.

“Why don’t you remember? We were attached to her like glue in and out of the classroom, always hungry for her next lesson. For gods sake, she’s the one who taught us how to swim!” Ven groaned starting to lose his cool.

“Ven, what’s wrong with you? Everyone knows I can’t swim, I sink like a rock.” Ray asked, taking a nervous step back.

“Fine. I’ll prove what I’m saying isn’t a lie…” Ventus snarled, grabbing the spade resting against the nearby tree.

“Ven, what are you-?” Ray tried to ask before gasping in horror when Ventus began digging up the grave at rapid speed.

“There are no remains...! What’s really buried here…! Is your weapon…! Care to guess why that is…?!” Ventus spoke as he continued to dig until a loud metal sound rang out.

“What are you talking about?!” Ray cried looking around in a panic for anyone who might see the sinful act.

“Maria… never… died!” Ventus scowled while yanking on something in the dirt.

With some effort he managed to yank out an Aegis Sword that had a demon motif to its red, black, and gold colors. Even in it’s dormant state the blade looked like it could cleave someone’s head off. Its shape could be described as a longsword with an arrow-like tip. There were gold v segments along the blade that told of some unseen function. Ventus then forcefully put it into Ray’s hands making him drop the umbrella. The weapon felt warm in his grip and he was unable to tear his eyes away from it.

“How do I know she didn’t die? I ran into her while I was in New Mor Ardain. She tried to run but I managed to catch her with Siren’s help. Turns out, she’s very good at faking her death. The minute she found out that you and I both had the strength of an Aegis she turned tail and ran, afraid of our power. She made it look like she went up with the schoolhouse, only your weapon left behind. Our parents couldn’t bear to see you broken like you were, convinced her death was your fault, so they erased your memories. They told me when you were old enough to leave home they’d come clean. They still haven’t done it.” Ventus explained, giving Ray painful flashbacks dropping the weapon to hold his head.

“W-Why…? No… it can’t…” Ray groaned as something in the back of his mind tried to keep him from remembering.

“Fight it, Ray! The subconscious suggestion is trying to continue hiding it! You have to remember!” Ventus roared, grabbing his shoulders.

“Ventus, stop!” Rex’s voice called as smoke began to rise off Ray’s arms when he began flailing.

“I… can’t… make the pain… stop…!” Ray groaned, starting to cry blood as his arms erupted into flames.

Rex, Pyra, and Mythra tried to get to Ray but a pillar of flame engulfed him as he let out an agonized scream. When the flames died down, Ray’s clothes had burned away to reveal a black and red combat suit as he fell to his hands and knees breathing heavily. With an unsteady hand he then grabbed the hilt of his Aegis Sword and raised it skyward to make the gold segments extend slightly and ignite a blade of flame.

“I… remember…” Ray spoke with a furious expression. 

The memories played like a vicious record of agony in his mind. It quickly became too much and a ball of flame engulfed him as he cried out. The ball then fired off into the distance, taking him with it. 

“So you’re going there…” Ventus spoke looking after his brother.

“Where?! Where did he go?!” Rex demanded.

“You really can’t figure out the answer? He’s going to where he thinks he can find our old teacher.” Ventus answered with a cold look.

“He won’t survive on his own!” Mythra scowled.

“I think he’ll do just fine without you three tying him down with lies.” Ventus spoke sending very harsh chills down Pyra’s spine making her shed a few tears.

Meanwhile, in New Ardain City, the fireball crashed with great force into the plaza, scaring the daylights out of the people. Lying unconscious in the crater back in his regular clothes was Ray, crying in his sleep. Several Ardainian soldiers hurried to surround him and Morag approached with Brighid at her side. Upon seeing him, she recognized him immediately.

“Get a doctor immediately. I know this boy.” Morag ordered.

“Morag, if he came here on his own then his powers are awake. We should exercise caution touching him carelessly.” Brighid told her.

“Right. Fire Control Squad, you’re in charge of moving him but be careful. He may be unable to control his body temperature; put him down if he begins exceeding what your equipment can handle. I’ll have Brighid take over in that situation.” she ordered further.

“Yes ma’am!”

“Ventus… what were you thinking waking him up?” Brighid pondered.

“What I feared may have come to pass. Rex and Pyra likely couldn’t bear to tell him the truth for fear of what it would do to him. Even beyond that truth is the lie that may break him.” Morag sighed while adjusting her hat.

Ray awoke inside a comfortable room. He sat up and found odd blue gemstone bracelets around his wrists. Brighid then entered the room.

“Oh good, your body temperature is under control again. It’s safe to come in.” she smiled and then Morag entered.

“Morag? Where am I?” Ray questioned.

“You’re in New Ardain at the Imperial Palace. We found you crashed in the square. We managed to give the citizens a believable story, but there are skeptics who personally saw the impact.” Morag answered him.

“I don’t remember much of what happened…” he groaned, holding his head.

“You learned that your teacher faked her death, correct? Otherwise you wouldn’t have your weapon.” Brighid told him, pointing to his sword leaning against the wall.

“Oh… yeah…” he spoke, getting a depressed look.

“Luckily for you, we went to the trouble of bringing her in under suspicion of Blade Mistreatment. If you want to see her then you’re more than welcome to come along for her interrogation.” Morag offered.

Hearing that Ray got out of bed immediately and put his weapon on his back making a scabbard appear in a whiff of flame. Morag and Brighid then led the way to the interrogation room where a girl Ray’s age with green eyes and long blue hair wearing the same uniform as Morag was standing guard. She nervously gave a salute acknowledging them.

“Suspect is ready for questioning.” the girl told her.

“Good work.” Morg nodded before leading the group inside.

The room had various equipment inside along with a one-way window to a soundproof room. Sitting inside with shackles on her wrists was a gifted woman with very long brown hair with swirling bangs. She was dressed in black boots, white knee socks, a blue dress with a white long-sleeved blouse underneath, and a black hood. There was no doubt about this woman’s identity to Ray… it was her… Maria Ellwood. Morag entered and a soldier pressed a button so they could hear their conversation.

“You know, you people keep accusing me of crimes I can’t possibly commit. I haven’t had a Blade in years.” Maria huffed.

“Does the name Ray mean anything to you?” Morag asked her.

“Can’t say that I know it.” she replied uncivilly.

“Hmm, then how about… Fonsett Village?” Morag spoke making her ever so slightly wince.

“Nothing.” Maria told her.

“That’s funny, because I have two young boys whose stories correlate to you not only leaving mental scars on them but abandoning one when you were his Driver. I don’t care what you believe, but according to Mor Ardain Law that is 1st Degree Blade Neglect. An argument could also be made for abuse on top of it. Both crimes are easily punishable by a life sentence, if the judge were feeling lenient.” Morag spoke, making Maria start to scowl.

“I do not know any ‘Ray’, nor have I been to a place called ‘Fonsett Village’. I have done no crime.” Maria growled, and Ray couldn’t take it anymore.

He burst into the room with tears in his eyes. Maria almost fell from her chair when he did so. Morag’s expression then turned from good cop to bad cop.

“Will you still deny it when he’s right before you? Admit it! You abandoned him because he’s an Aegis!” Morag demanded and Maria fell over as Ray stared at her.

“Don’t look… don’t look at me with those eyes… those innocent eyes… do you mean to shame me more than I’ve already shamed myself…?” Maria whimpered. 

“Maria Ellwood, as Special Inquisitor I find you guilty of both 1st Degree Blade Neglect and several charges of Blade Abuse. Don’t think we don’t know that you sacrificed Blades to fake your death. Your sentence will be discussed with the emperor and carried out in full.” Morag scowled furiously. 

Maria was taken to a high security cell and Ray went to a balcony for some air. It was true, all true; Ventus wasn’t lying to him. Everyone close to him had in some way lied and been in on the ruse for one reason or another. He wasn’t sure who to trust anymore because of it. 

“An Aegis Class Blade, like I heard… you can just feel the power radiating off of him.” a woman’s voice spoke.

He looked to his left and jumped at how outlandishly a woman with chocolate brown skin and long white hair was dressed. She wore black thigh boots, black denim hot pants, a crimson bikini top, six red belt bracelets on each arm, black fingerless gloves, a black choker with a skull charm dangling from it, and an Inquisitor hat like Morag’s. Behind her was a woman Blade with black hair tied in a bun dressed like she were getting married oriental style. 

“Who… are you?” Ray nervously asked her.

“Elite Inspector Evie Moray, Driver to the Aegis Class Blade Evangelion. Say hi, Eva.” she introduced herself giving a gentle nudge to her partner.

“It is an honor to meet you, Holy Flare.” Evangelion smiled giving a respectful bow to him.

“Sorry, ‘Holy Flare’?” Ray questioned.

“You’re as sheltered as your stick-in-the-mud brother said you are. Ever since Elysium was created and humanity began reclaiming the land below the sea, Pyra and Mythra are no longer the only Aegis Class Blades. Blades from millions of years ago, way before even the Aegis War, have been unearthed and awakened. Evangelion is one of ‘em, equipped with a special kind of weapon not seen very much: the Multitool. I can change it into whatever weapon I feel like using.” Evie explained in detail.

“So… what makes you an Aegis Class?” Ray asked her.

“Eva, if you’d please?” she delegated the question.

“The prerequisites to be called an Aegis Class Blade are simpler than you’d think. All Blades have a core crystal, but they’re all the same shape… except for an Aegis. The first prerequisite is that your crystal has an irregular shape. Yours and mine match that perfectly.” Evangelion began to explain pulling her robe a bit to show a yellow star-shaped crystal where her cleavage begins.

“Now that you mention it no other Blades besides my mom, Ventus, and Mythra have the same crystal shape…” Ray spoke, feeling his crystal.

“The second prerequisite is an ability ordinary Blades do not possess: the ability to have multiple Drivers at the same time. Think of it as selective partnership. At any time we can choose to make someone our Driver and disengage from another. For an Aegis there is no such thing as ‘compatible’ or ‘has the potential’. I chose Evie because I find her to be quite entertaining compared to some of my other Drivers.” Evangelion continued with her lecture.

“ _ Does that mean Ventus chose Siren to be his Driver…? _ ” Ray thought to himself.

“The third and final prerequisite to being classified as an Aegis is complete and total immunity to Anti-Blade technology. The most it can do is conceal our true power. The bracelets you wear are meant to seal a Blade’s powers, but to an Aegis they’re little more than camouflage that suppresses our elemental effects.” Evangelion finished her lecture.

“How do I know I’m not sealed?” Ray asked her.

“The fact that you can still materialize that sword on your back. If a regular Blade gets sealed, poof, no more weapon or powers. If the Blade is really weak there can even be lasting after effects.” Evie giggled, flicking his nose.

“That being said, there is a matter of the person being able to handle our power. If they can’t then it has the potential to cause complications up to and including death. Not everyone can be an Aegis Driver.” Evangelion told him.

“Ray, there you are. I wanted to ask you something.” Brighid’s voice interrupted them as she approached from the other way.

“What’s up?” he replied.

“How do you feel about your Driver being alive? Once you’ve gotten past the feelings of betrayal that is?” Brighid asked him.

“Well… she was my teacher… and it’s still fuzzy, but she handled my weapon with ease from what I can make out of my memories. She was one of the few people that took all of the pranks Ventus and I set up with a smile on her face. She’d even praise us for the creativity we put into them. I don’t know the first thing about just how strong I am… so if anyone would know it’s her. I’m happy she’s alive, and I’d like it if she were to teach me again. Maybe even help me find a suitable replacement if she doesn’t want to be my Driver…?” Ray replied while thinking about it.

“So… if someone asked you if you wanted her dead, what would your answer be?” she continued to question.

“No. I’d want her to live.” he answered with a smile.

“Why the serious questions, Bri?” Evie giggled.

“Nothing you need to be concerned with, inspector. You have your own cases to be working on.” Brighid replied coldly.

“Ow, for a fire Blade you can be such an ice queen. My offer still stands, you know.” Evie giggled before happily skipping along with Evangelion following behind at her own pace.

“Offer?” he questioned.

“An offer I wouldn’t take even if I lost my memories of Morag. Please forget about it. If you’re smart you’ll avoid her at all costs.” Brighid scowled after the inspector.

“I am curious why you asked me those questions though.” Ray told her, trying to change the subject.

“Your decision is the hand of judgment for Maria’s sentence. I said nothing of it so that I could hear your clear and honest answers.” Brighid smiled.

Ray decided to take a walk around the palace after that to clear his head. Near the ground floor he found a few soldiers talking in a somewhat panicked state.

“What’s taking that rookie so long…? She should see it’s impossible and come right back...”

“You don’t think… she mighta been thick enough to actually give it a go?”

“Oi, oi, it’d be bad if she did… we’d be held accountable…”

“We can’t go ourselves, but at the same time if we tell a Driver we’ll get reported for sure…”

“W-We can just go see if she actually tried by taking the hidden hatch in the east wing kitchen, yeah? What if she just went to get a bite?”

“ _ That doesn’t sound good. East wing kitchen, huh…? _ ” Ray thought to himself.

Ray made his way there and sure enough there was a hatch in the back room with a ladder going down a ways. He slid down the ladder and found himself on what looked to be an outdoor waterworking plant. It was pumping water up to the palace, but not very well. He heard sounds of battle and rushed over. There he saw the girl standing guard at the interrogation room trying to fight off jet black krabbles, in seemingly vain efforts. Her broadsword was bouncing right off. Ray charged in and stopped one from ramming her from behind, cutting it in two with a single swing.

“Ah, you’re that Aegis Class Blade...!” she gasped.

“We can talk later. For now, use this.” Ray insisted, handing his blade to her.

When she held it, the fiery blade seemed to become larger and more powerful. With his sword he was finally able to damage the krabbles, taking them out relatively easily. Despite his weapon’s size she was able to use it with a single hand, only going two hands when delivering the final blow of a combo. She was decently agile as well, able to evade several attacks in a row unscathed. When the last krabble fell it let out a screech before falling over.

“I think that’s the last of ‘em…” the girl sighed.

The main water pump then began to creak unnaturally. The main door then burst and a massive black krabble came charging out, screeching loudly. They couldn’t tell if it was a new species or not.

It hit very hard, making Ray and the girl have to dodge nearly twice as much. His blade was dealing some damage, but not piercing nearly as well as it did those lesser krabbles. It eventually got a good hit on the girl knocking her sliding on her back.

“It’s just a scratch…” she groaned as Ray helped her sit up.

“Damn…” Ray grimaced.

Brighid then came down from above lashing it with her weapons. Unleashing a devastating combo, the krabble screamed in pain as parts of it were severely burned.

“Ray, you have to let out your real power. You are a second generation Aegis, like your brother. You have more strength than you realize. Simply wish for her to have more power.” Brighid told him.

“More power…? This isn’t the maximum…?” Ray questioned, looking at his weapon.

He helped the girl get to her feet as Brighid held off the krabble, and then closed his eyes to focus. It should be simple, right? Brighid just said he needs to wish it. In a flash of fire, his clothes were replaced by his combat suit. The flame on his blade then seemed to intensify and concentrate itself like a blowtorch. When Ray opened his eyes flames ignited on the outside edges of his eyes.

“Let’s do this!” Ray roared.

“Y-Yeah.” the girl nodded nervously.

She charged with the blade and when she swing to counter a claw swipe, the blade sliced halfway into its claw making it screech in agony as smoke raged out of the wound. When she put in the effort to knock it back, the top half of the claw went flying across the area. It swung its other claw and she severed it at the wrist making it screech even more in pain. The krabble then began to flee toward the cloudsea.

“You aren’t getting away…” Ray growled, aiming his palm at it.

“Ray…?” Brighid questioned nervously.

“ **Hellfire!** ” he roared, unleashing a colossal beam of flames from his palm setting the entire krabble on fire.

Its screeches were horrific as it dove off the edge into the cloudsea, steam rising off as the flames were doused. The grin on his face was absolutely sadistic. A shriek brought him to his senses though. Looking back, smoke was rising from the girl’s hands as she held his weapon, but she couldn’t let go. Brighid sprinted over and quickly helped her pry her fingers off of the hilt, letting the weapon hit the floor where it singed the dirt. The palm side of the girl’s hands were pitch black. She was in so much pain she couldn’t even cry.

“I… I didn’t mean to…” Ray spoke in disbelief, his clothes returning to normal in a whiff of flame.

“It isn’t your fault, Ray. Your full power was just too much for her.” Brighid told him.

Brighid carefully took the girl back up top and hurried to the medical ward to get her hands treated. Ray couldn’t hide how guilty he felt. His weapon did that to her. To be frank, he could barely remember what he did when unleashing his full power. Looking at his wrists, the anti-blade bracelets he had on were completely gone. When did they fall off? Later he was approached by Morag.

“I bring news of the girl you burned.” Morag told him.

“Will she be okay?” he asked, getting to his feet.

“The burns weren’t as severe as we initially thought they may be, so we can thankfully heal her right up with a water blade’s healing arts.” she answered.

“Thank goodness…” he sighed, sinking to his knees in relief.

“I can tell how remorseful you are just from speaking with you. I can conclude you had no intentions of harming her. This lines up with Brighid’s recollection of events. We will write this off as an accident.” Morag smiled.

“Why though… why did my blade burn her…? She was doing fine before releasing more power...” he asked.

“Not everyone can take the power that an Aegis Class Blade possesses. I would guess that only roughly 15% of the world’s population have the ability to withstand it. I’ve heard that some were even sealed away because not a single person who tried to use them could handle their full strength. One such Blade is known as ‘The Spear of Ruin’. That madman would kill any unworthy Driver that tried to use his spear. We didn’t shatter his core crystal under orders from the emperor, otherwise I would have.” Morag replied.

“So… my nickname is the ‘Holy Flare’... how did I get that name?” Ray asked, getting to his feet.

“All Aegis Class Blades are given a nickname designation often representing their powers, abilities, or nature. The Spear of Ruin was named after his naturally sadistic nature that often causes ruin wherever he goes. You were given yours because your power manifested to save many people. Most saw it as a flare from the heavens, thus the name Holy Flare was conceived.” Morag replied.

“I sure don’t feel like a Holy Flare right now…” he sighed.

“That girl’s name is Kirin. She doesn’t hate you for it. In fact, she told me that given the chance she’d like to try being your Driver again. She can’t become a Driver under normal circumstances, she’s tried, but if she were to partner with an Aegis, who doesn’t abide by the normal rules… just a thought.” Morag smiled before taking her leave.

“What if I burn her again…?” he asked, making her stop.

“You won’t burn her again, Ray. At the time you hadn’t formally accepted her as your Driver, had you? You just wanted to save her in the moment. Fix that, and you should solve your burn problem.” Morag giggled, continuing on her way.

“ _ Well… it might be good for me to check out New Mor Ardain… _ ” he thought to himself.


	2. Dark Rumors

Ray made his way to the medical ward and there Kirin was, bandages on her palms. He took a deep breath and then approached her.

“Oh, you’re the Holy Flare!” she gasped.

“You don’t have to call me that you know… just Ray works.” he chuckled.

“O-Okay.” she nodded.

“I’m sorry I burned you. I did kind of just hand you my weapon without any formality.” Ray apologized, bowing.

“Oh no, I’ll be fine! They healed my hands up good! I only have very mild burns left behind now, so I’m fully capable of returning to work! I was also cocky in thinking that I could handle an Aegis’s power...” she insisted, shaking her head.

“Well, from what Morag told me you can’t wield Blades normally.” he nodded.

“I know… embarrassing for a member of the Special Investigations Unit to fail to become a Driver, right? I’m not given the same tasks that others are given, for my own safety mind you.” Kirin sighed.

“You would travel around New Mor Ardain if you were a Driver though, right?” he asked.

“Well, as much as the current investigation requires, anyway.” she nodded.

“How about this: I’ll be your Blade, and when you get sent out you can show me the sights along the way?” Ray offered, taking his blade off his back.

“You would honor me with a second chance to be your Driver…?” she gasped.

“Yeah. You were pretty skilled with it, so you must have some degree of experience with this weapon class.” Ray nodded.

“I’ll make sure we don’t miss a single landmark!” she beamed, happily taking the weapon.

“So, did you officially accept her as your Driver?” Brighid asked, approaching the duo.

“Assuming there isn’t something special we have to do, yeah.” Ray nodded.

“Good. Ray, I notice that you seem to have difficulty keeping it together when using your full power. You went a little mad, using excessive force on that krabble. For now you should try getting a grip on using just your current level of strength and work your way up to 100%.” Brighid lectured.

“Yeah… my memory blanks on what happened until Kirin yelled, too.” he sighed, crossing his arms.

“Well, in any case, you two should go see His Excellency to inform him of your bond. I’ll make sure they know you are coming.” Brighid smiled.

She went on ahead of them as Kirin got cleared by the doctors to leave the medical ward. Their next stop was the audience hall. The guard standing there stood aside and allowed them in immediately. Sitting upon the throne was Emperor Niall. Kirin knelt to him, prompting Ray to do the same.

“The Holy Flare has graced us with his presence… and has chosen to be the Blade of a member of the Special Investigations Unit. To what honor does Mor Ardain owe this chain of events?” Niall asked Ray.

“If you don’t mind me being pretty blunt, I’ve never been outside of Fonsett before so I thought seeing the world would be good for me. After all, isn’t Ventus also the Blade of a Special Investigations officer?” he answered, chuckling.

“You are correct. Inspector Klous has become an invaluable help with the Piercing Light at her side.” he nodded.

“Speaking of, he’s probably going to smack me when he sees me again…” Ray sighed.

“You’re damn right!” Ventus’s voice roared.

He turned around just in time to get a flying kick to the jaw knocking him flying. Everyone was in shock as Ray twitched a little.

“What’s the big idea crashing in the middle of town like that?! Show a little self-restraint, bro!” Ventus roared.

“Like it was my fault?! I lost control after you dropped a truth bomb on me!” Ray shouted back, getting up.

“You’re damn right it’s your fault! That is a Ray shaped hole in the pavement!” he retorted.

“Boys. You are in His Majesty’s presence.” Morag cleared her throat.

“Sorry Morag.”-”Eat me.”

Ventus’s reply made Ray look at him in shock.

“I see that your tongue has come _loose_ from the last time your Driver and I sparred.” Morag growled, approaching while drawing her blades.

“Tch, we aren’t the same pair you fought back then.” Ventus snarled.

“Ventus, you said we wouldn’t use that power unless it was necessary.” Siren swallowed nervously.

“Enough.” Niall commanded, making Morag halt her advance.

“Majesty...” Brighid sighed with relief.

“As much as I would enjoy seeing how you and your Driver have improved, Ventus, there are more pressing matters. It is actually fortuitous that you have shown here at this moment.” Niall explained to them.

“So you’re going to brief them on that…” Morag spoke, sheathing her weapons.

“Lately there has been a long string of Drivers getting their Blades taken from them. Some are found dead, others unconscious. The strange part that we cannot figure out is _how_ the bond between Driver and Blade is being severed. For now we can only explain it as the work of an Aegis Class Blade, as we do not know how many are in existence and they have been known to have strange powers.” Niall explained to the group.

“How many are known so far?” Ray asked.

“There are currently nine that we know of: Pyra, Mythra, the two of you, Evangelion the Formless, Leviathan the Spear of Ruin, The Reaper, Keiji the Vagabond, and Tallus the Lord of Dragons. The Spear of Ruin and The Lord of Dragons are both sealed away, so it could not be those two. Evangelion’s special power is enhanced reflexes, so it couldn’t be her. Brighid and I have personally fought The Vagabond and he bore no such power. I cannot say about The Reaper’s power, as no one has been able to truly verify if they are even real thus far. Only hearsay of a Blade without a Driver dressed in a black cloak wielding a scythe, we don’t even have a name to go on.” Morag answered.

“So a mystery that only Aegis Class Blades themselves could solve, huh? We don’t obey the normal rules of Blades, after all.” Ventus mused.

“It should also be noted that you two and your mothers are all classified as True Aegises. Your core crystals all bear that key shape, though you two are more of a technicality as their sons. Bear that in mind when meeting other Aegis Blades, as they do like their specifics when it comes to identifying yourself.” Morag added.

“So, I’d introduce myself as ‘Ray, True Aegis Blade’?” Ray asked.

“You catch on quick.” Brighid smiled.

“Did the Vagabond have a Driver when you fought him…?” Ventus asked them.

“He said that he does not use a Driver for their own safety. In his own words, his power is far too unstable to entrust to mortal hands. To put a gory story lightly, they took out their foes… but with so much recoil that the attack took the arm of the Driver with them.” Brighid replied.

“Hmm… if we see him we’ll interrogate him.” Ventus told them.

“You will have to fight him first. Keiji is always seeking a good fight, though he isn’t without reason.” Morag warned.

“Surprisingly gentlemanly for a wandering Blade as well.” Brighid nodded.

“Kirin, you’ve been silent this whole time. Is something the matter?” Morag asked the newbie Driver, making her flinch.

“I-It just didn’t feel like my place to say anything. I also don’t know what I could do to help in this situation.” Kirin replied nervously.

“That is understandable. For now I’ll be sending you to scout out a situation in Veena past the Stone Valley. They claim there are some unsavory characters hanging about, but so far we’ve received no intel to substantiate the claim. While you are there, keep an ear out for cases of Blades and Drivers being separated by force.” Morag instructed.

“We’ll set out as soon as we’re ready.” Kirin nodded.

“Careful how much power you use, Ray. Don’t forget, we have way more power than normal Blades. If she can’t be a Driver under normal circumstances there’s no telling what a blowback effect could do to her.” Ventus warned.

“I know…” he sighed.

“Your Majesty, Brighid and I will begin looking into a possible lead on Reaper. A figure resembling their description has appeared in Gormott.” Morag told Niall.

“Actually, I would prefer if Siren and Ventus did that. I have a more important task for you two to undertake.” Niall shook his head.

“More important than the situation at hand?” Brighid questioned.

“It involves that Driver wielding those strange weapons from the other night.” Niall replied.

“In that case I shall hear it. You four have your orders, move out.” Morag ordered.

“Yes ma’am.”

In town, Siren and Kirin went shopping and had Ventus and Ray wait in the plaza.

“Those two sure are taking their time…” Ventus huffed.

“Don’t be like that, Ven. They’re just making sure we’re ready for our assignments.” Ray chuckled.

“You’re laid back for someone who became a Driver damn near immediately after leaving home.” Ventus scoffed.

“Well. It just sort of happened. I burned her the first time though. I didn’t know I had to officially recognize her. Thankfully they could heal her quickly.” Ray admitted.

“Ha! That’s nothing, Siren couldn’t use her hands for weeks with how bad my weapon burned her! It was burning her but she refused to let go until every last bandit was dead!” Ventus laughed.

“How did she eat?” Ray questioned.

“Fed her myself. Oh, but don’t tell her that I told you that, she made me promise not to say anything. It’s a pride thing, you know?” Ventus replied.

“My lips are sealed.” Ray nodded.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Siren’s voice piped up.

When the two girls returned Siren had a large satchel bag and Kirin was now carrying a good sized travel backpack. Their waists also had a new belt with smaller pouches lining the sides.

“What do you need those for?” Ray questioned.

“Supplies, what else? Someone’s gotta carry ‘em.” Ventus told him.

“These bags are designed not to come open during battle and are made from Shed Titan Hide, guaranteed not to rip or tear.” Kirin smiled.

“They can stop even Rare Blade’s weapons cold.” Siren added.

“Still, going all the way to Gormott on what’s most likely a wild goose chase…?” Ventus sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Ours isn’t any better, the claims are unsubstantiated.” Ray shrugged.

“Orders are orders. We’ll investigate all we can.” Siren shook her head.

“Veena is my hometown, so I’ll know for sure if it’s a lie based on who’s making the claims.” Kirin beamed.

“Make sure you write home, Ray. Mom, dad, and Pyra are sure to be worried sick by now.” Ventus told him, getting up to stretch.

“Yeah.” he nodded.

The two groups then went their separate ways, Ray and Kirin to the Capital Outskirts and Ventus and Siren to the port. The weather was very nice as they followed the path. Along the way some Volfs gave Kirin some real time trying out Ray’s Aegis Sword. After taking out a few, the rest fled for the hills.

“Your power truly is incredible, Ray.” Kirin beamed.

“Yeah. Until a few days ago I had no clue that I even possessed a weapon. Ventus told me that my parents altered my memory so I wouldn’t remember our teacher faking her death, which consequently made me forget about my weapon.” he nodded.

“Sometimes ignorance _is_ bliss…” Kirin sighed.

Their journey continued on until they reached a downward stone slope. They got to the bottom and found a massive boulder in the path.

“That’s a big rock.” Ray commented.

“What’s that doing here? This is the only path into Stone Valley.” Kirin groaned.

“Having some rock trouble?” a voice piped up.

Looking behind them, a tall muscular tan-skinned man was approaching. He had very long dark brown hair put up in a ponytail by a fancy dragon-shaped pin and piercing green eyes. He was dressed in red tsuranuki footwear, black taping around his forelegs, somewhat baggy red pants with the legs tied down by said tape, a black breastplate with a tiger skin left sleeve and no right sleeve, white fur wrist bracers, white gloves, and feather-shaped earrings. Resting on his shoulders was a beautifully crafted odachi with a glittering blue blade and hilt made of cleanly forged steel bearing a dragon motif and black grip tape around the handle. He was walking with the weapon resting on his shoulders and his forearms on the blade. Shining prominently in his neck was a core crystal in the shape of a heart.

“A core crystal…? But no Driver…?” Ray questioned.

“An Aegis Class Blade?” Kirin gasped.

“Keiji, Aegis Class Blade, at your service.” the man bowed.

“The Vagabond?!” Kirin exclaimed.

“You know your stuff. So, who’s your Blade?” Keiji asked, a friendly smile on his face.

“Ray, True Aegis Class Blade.” he introduced himself, bowing.

“True Aegis? Oh, that makes you the Holy Flare! Haha, yeah, even with your power you aren’t moving this hunk of rock.” Keiji laughed.

“I kind of figured that. Look how big it is.” Ray chuckled.

“Me on the other hand? Watch me turn this rock into pebbles.” Keiji grinned.

“You can do that?” Kirin asked curiously.

“Stand back… and lemme show you how keen my edge is.” he told them, shrugging his shoulders to bounce his weapon up and catch it.

The two of them hurried behind Keiji as he began focusing, taking a proper kendo stance. The air around him seemed to become serene as he began raising his blade up.

“SEI!!!” he roared, bringing his blade down in a single swift stroke.

Nothing seemed to happen, but then the entire middle of the boulder shattered into hundreds of thousands of pebbles. The two halves of the boulder remaining then fell inward and formed an archway.

“That was awesome!” Ray exclaimed.

“He cleared the way!” Kirin cheered.

“That boulder didn’t just happen to fall into place, by the way. So I suspect foul play. I’m gonna go on ahead and slice up any boulders I find blocking the way.” Keiji beamed before running off.

“He is a little weird like Morag said, huh?” Ray chuckled.

“Yeah, but the way is clear now. So nothing can stop us from getting through.” Kirin giggled.

The two proceeded into Stone Canyon and found the place definitely looked tampered with. Several walkways had been smashed, and looking above there was evidence of blasting. The natural wildlife was naturally disturbed as well, becoming violent toward them. Along the way they found more boulders that’d met their end at Keiji’s hand. On the other side of the canyon they came across a camp that’d be ransacked. Several people had been killed, and recently. A scream made the two rush out of the canyon into the Lush Basin where they witnessed Keiji leap high into the air and bring his blade down on a few people, cutting them down in cold blood.

“Keiji, what are you doing?!” Kirin exclaimed.

“These bandits are the ones who blew up the canyon. They thought they’d make a nice buck off a toll booth… but they got too carried away and caused boulders to block the way. I’m meeting out justice…” Keiji snarled, readying to strike down the last one as they begged for their life.

“Justice is handing them to the authorities, not taking their lives!” she cried, getting in his way.

“You’re so naive. The moment they tried to swing at me was the moment they lost the right to be tried in court. It was an admission to having no regrets.” Keiji huffed.

He then coldly pushed Kirin out of the way, causing her to fall over, and ran the last bandit through. She couldn’t believe her eyes as Keiji stared into the bandit’s eyes until the light in them faded away.

“What did you do that for?!” Ray exclaimed.

“It’s the way the world works… the way the _real_ world works. If you kids thought you’d never have to take a life then you should quit now. Your Driver of all people should know that, as a member of the Special Investigations Unit.” Keiji spoke in a cold tone of voice.

“It doesn’t mean I should be desensitised to it! Besides I… still haven’t taken a human life myself… and what’s so wrong with fearing the moment that day comes…?” she cried, getting to her feet.

“Fool. Pray the day comes sooner than later, but don’t lose yourself to bloodlust and kill needlessly.” Keiji scoffed, walking off.

“Rich coming from a guy who just killed a bunch of people in cold blood!” Ray yelled after him.

“He _is_ right. At some point, if we do wind up being a good team, I may have to… to kill someone. Cases where it isn’t possible to make an arrest because the criminals force the investigator’s hands aren’t all that uncommon these days...” she sighed, clenching her fists.

“Killing someone isn’t easy… and I know that since Ventus is also working with an investigator he’s probably already had that experience. All we can do is try to prepare ourselves for it.” Ray attempted to comfort her.

“Yeah…” she nodded nervously.

The two made for Veena in an awkward silence. Upon arriving the two were rushed by the local kids who recognized Kirin. They were all over the two, much to Ray’s surprise. One of the grownup men then approached.

“Well, I’ll be! Kirin! Who’s this with you? Yer boyfriend?” the man addressed them.

“No! He’s… er… my partner. He’s the Aegis Class Blade ‘Holy Flare’, but his name is Ray.” she introduced him.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Ray nodded.

“Weird. Coulda swore that Kirin couldn’t become a Driver…” he narrowed his eyes.

“Aegis Class Blades don’t follow that rule, Dave. We’re officially recognized as a pair by His Grace.” Kirin smiled.

“Oh-ho! So you got to meet face to face with His Imperial Majesty?! That’s sure to be somethin’ to talk about!” Dave laughed.

“I can’t chat unfortunately. I need to investigate the reports of unsavory characters.” she shook her head.

“Oh, they sent you here for somethin’ like that? If anyone can get to the bottom of it it’s you. Go see yer da in his clinic while yer here.” Dave instructed.

“I probably should. Follow me.” Kirin smiled at Ray.

She led him into the heart of town where a medical clinic was set up. Inside was a thin man with long black hair wearing goggles. He was dressed in black boots, brown cargo pants tucked into them, a sleeveless red shirt, and white medical gloves. The man was finishing up a suture on a wound.

“Dad, I’m home.” Kirin spoke up.

“That’s all you have to say then?” he commented harshly without even turning from his patient.

“I must be missing something here…” Ray commented.

“I… sort of ran away from home to join the Ardainian Military a few years back. They found my skills useful so I got put in the Special Investigation Force. I have not been home since...” Kirin chuckled nervously.

“Don’t you need parent consent to do that?” Ray raised an eyebrow.

“I expected that step to shoot me in the foot too, but lo and behold… dad said yes over the phone.” Kirin explained.

“I figured they’d whip that unruliness from you. Make you a little more manageable. Looks like I hoped for nothing, not so much as a letter and then you drop in out of the blue with a Blade…” her father huffed, standing up from his stool.

“You never complained when mom was ‘unmanageable’...” Kirin retorted.

“Your mother didn’t run away to join the army, now did she?” he scoffed.

“No, but she did risk her life getting you the ingredients necessary to make your miracle elixir, saving the life of that Ardainian nobleman.” Kirin smirked.

“Is that the voice of my baby girl I hear?!” a woman’s voice boomed from upstairs.

“Uh-oh…” Kirin swallowed nervously.

A physically fit woman with dark skin then swung down acrobatically from the rafters, performing a front flip and sticking the landing. She was wearing thick brown boots, an orange form-fitting jumpsuit with no arm sleeves, a red scarf, and brown gloves. She had hair the same color as Kirins, but much longer and in three ponytails.

“There’s my Kiri-kiwi!” the woman beamed, hugging her tightly.

“Hi… mom…” she groaned.

“I think I hear bones cracking…” Ray commented.

“My hugs can’t hurt that bad compared to military exercise! Suck it up!” her mom laughed, finally letting go.

“Our daughter has become a Driver, Cerina.” Kirin’s father told her.

“Has she?! To an Aegis Class Blade no less!” she gasped, looking at Ray.

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” Ray nodded.

“The hell kind of greeting is that? Come here, you!” she beamed, hugging him just as tight as she did to Kirin.

“My bones…!” he cried.

“Sorry. Mom’s a hugger… especially when she’s mad.” Kirin chuckled.

“I noticed…” he groaned as Cerina set him down.

“Mad? Do you even know how worried I was, young lady?! I was stress hugging your father for weeks!” Cerina scolded her.

“You say that but they aren’t any different from your normal hugs.” Kirin’s father shrugged.

“Shut it Hugo, I’m scolding our daughter.” Cerina growled.

“Mom, dad, I’m actually home because of work. You two haven’t heard any rumors about unsavory characters have you?” Kirin interrupted.

“So the crown finally pays us some attention, eh? About damn time. We had an actual attack last night.” Cerina huffed.

“An attack?!” Ray gasped.

“This sod here. Got struck from behind, and next thing he knew his Blade was gone.” Hugo explained, gesturing to his patient.

“Here too?!” Kirin exclaimed.

“Mor Ardain Special Investigations…?” the patient groaned.

“Sir, if it isn’t too painful to talk, can you recollect what happened for me?” Kirin asked, sitting by him.

“O’ course I can. I work in the storm silver mine, see, me n’ my Blade make a great team fer it. Ev’ry night once we get off work we go have a pint at the Krabble’s Shell. We was on our way home when I started to hear a wee lass begin counting up to twelve… somethin’ cut me an’ I blacked out. I wake up in the mornin’ with a splittin’ headache and me Blade missin’. He’s me mate, Logan is. If you could find him fer me, or at least find out what happened to ‘im, I’d be mighty grateful…” he regaled for her.

“Krabble’s Shell, huh…? I wonder if Minmin has heard anything…” Kirin thought aloud.

“I take it he’s not the first this has happened to.” Hugo stated.

“It is another in a long string of Drivers getting their Blades stolen.” Kirin nodded.

“Sounds like your job is rough right now.” Cerina sighed.

“I need to go ask Minmin if she’s seen or heard anything.” Kirin told them, getting up.

“Who?” Ray asked.

“The owner of the Krabble’s Shell.” she smiled in response.

The two then made their way to a bar. Manning the counter was a Gormotti man in a bartender outfit.

“Gregory, is Minmin in today?” Kirin asked him.

“Kirin?! Y-Yeah, she’s in. Why?” he replied, startled by her appearance.

“Nothing happens in town without her hearing about it, so I thought I’d ask for some info. It’s important for my investigation.” Kirin explained.

“She should be up in her office.” Gregory nodded.

When Kirin went and knocked on the door on the second floor a clatter startled the two of them. The room was then quiet.

“W-Who is it…?” a shaky voice asked.

“It’s Kirin, Minmin.” Kirin answered.

“Kiri-kiwi?! Come in, come in!” the voice gasped.

The door then opened to reveal a pink Nopon. She looked to be a little frazzled, but otherwise happy to see Kirin.

“Hmm? Who this, who this?” Minmin asked her.

“This is my Blade, Ray. He’s helping me gather information.” she explained.

“Hi.” he smiled.

“Kiri-kiwi need information? Kiri-kiwi come to right place!” Minmin beamed.

“I’ve been meaning to ask… ‘Kiri-kiwi’?” Ray asked.

“Oh. It’s my nickname. Uh… it’s embarrassing… but when I was little, I saw a cart full of lulukiwis and couldn’t help myself. They’re my favorite, but I was a short kid so I wound up making the back of the cart open and… dumped about thirty pounds of ‘em right on top of myself. I was buried completely, and when dad and the vendor managed to unbury me I was covered in juice from ones that squished upon landing on me. Dad had to pay for the whole batch. From that day on people started calling me Kiri-kiwi, in memory of my drive to obtain the delectable fruit whether it gets me in trouble or not. It bothered me at first, but after a while it grew on me.” Kirin explained.

“I don’t think I’ve had a lulukiwi before.” Ray shrugged.

“They’re about the size of a snowball so they fit right in your palm, an appealing shade of light blue on the outside, vibrant pink on the inside, and are super juicy. They’re the perfect level of soft that even the elderly can bite into without fear of hurting themselves. Plus their seeds are edible too and are often used in making lulukiwi pie. Get this, they’re also able to grow without any interaction at all. Just plant the seed and it’ll grow into a bush on its own. It’s known as a self-sustaining plant, able to grow from the natural ether in the air and ground.” Kirin ranted, practically drooling just thinking about them.

“Yes, yes, lulukiwi is good, but you come for info yes?” Minmin sighed.

“Right! We need to know if you may have heard about someone suspicious in town.” Kirin replied, snapping out of it.

“Suspicious how?” Minmin asked.

“Well… one of the miners got attacked last night. His Blade was stolen from him, or worse his Blade may have been killed.” Ray explained.

“No… not killed. Taken.” Minmin shook.

“How do you know?” Kirin gasped.

“Minmin… see what happen to Billie last night. He forget to pay bill, so pursue to get patronage, yes? That when hear girlie voice counting to twelve.” Minmin explained.

“That’s definitely in line with the victim’s story.” Ray nodded.

“So what happened?” Kirin asked.

“Girlie voice reach twelve, then strange Blade wrapped in bandages appear like a ghost! He cut Billie with sword that look like wind and he fall, nightynight! His Blade try to fight back, but cut him too! Blade turn back into core crystal before Minmin’s eyes! Minmin so scared she shriek, and bad-bad Blade spot Minmin because of it! He say ‘No witnesses’ when Driver wielding mysterious weapon appear and save Minmin! He tell Minmin to run! So Minmin did, and Minmin fear bad-bad Blade come to finish Minmin in her sleep…” she explained in detail.

“Can you recall any details about either individual?” Kirin asked, whipping out a pen and notepad.

“Uh… bad-bad Blade’s arms from fingertips to arms were covered in bandages as if injured, had loose ends that flutter even though there no wind. Bandages also wrap around neck and waist. No shirt, wore baggy pants like parachute. Long shaggy hair, too dark to tell color. Ooh! Core crystal in shape of a cross! Right on sternum!” Minmin recalled.

“What did his sword look like?” Ray asked.

“Minmin not remember definite shape… but look to be made of pure wind that glows like moonlight…” Minmin replied.

“Like… moonlight…” Kirin repeated, jotting it down.

“Do you remember your savior’s description?” Ray asked her.

“Yes! Minmin’s rescuer is young adult man with pale skin, could really use some sun. No ears or tail so must be Tantalese, Ardainian, or Leftherian. Shoulder length hair, wore funny-looking visor to hide eyes. Clothes look like salvager one-piece, sort of. Was dark so could not tell for sure. Is about height of Kiri-kiwi’s Blade.” Minmin answered.

“All right… what kind of weapon was he using?” Kirin asked.

“They type Minmin never see before, and Minmin seen many Blades in her lifetime. They look like sticks, but pulse with ether energy and have nubs he hold with. One end has dragon heads, other have dragon claws holding colored sphere.” Minmin replied.

“An odd description.” Kirin grumbled.

“Did he have a core crystal?” Ray asked.

“No. Minmin suspects Blade was hiding so they won't get taken by bad-bad Blade too.” she shook her head.

“All right! We got some quality information here, Ray! We can give Inquisitor Morag a suspect description!” Kirin beamed.

“I’m gonna go on a limb and say that’s a good thing.” Ray chuckled.

“You going to catch bad-bad Blade?” Minmin asked.

“Well, we’ll help however we can.” she replied.

“Meh-meh! Minmin wish you luck!” she cheered.

When the two left they hurried back to the clinic so Kirin could use the telephone. She quickly called up the Special Investigations Office.

“Yes, this is Rookie Investigator Kirin. I need to speak with Inquisitor Morag immediately.” Kirin spoke as soon as the other side picked up.

“What? The Consul is a busy woman. Why does she need to hear from a rookie?” the man on the other line asked.

“I have information that could make a breakthrough in the stolen Blades case. Specifically, eyewitness testimony and a description.” she answered.

“Wha-?! I’ll patch you through immediately!” they gasped.

“Thank you.” she giggled.

“Inquisitor Morag speaking. Who is this?” Morag’s voice then spoke.

“It’s Investigator Kirin, ma’am. In our investigation we found another case of a Blade stolen from its Driver.” she replied.

“Another? You didn’t have to report that.” Morag sighed.

“Ma’am, this case is different. There was an eyewitness and they gave a description of the one behind the attack. They also described a Driver wielding strange weapons that saved them from the same attacker.” Kirin explained.

“Strange how…?” Morag asked, seeming interested now.

“She described them as ‘sticks with nubs to hold onto’. They seem to have a dragon motif of some kind.” she explained, looking to her notepad.

“You are to remain there. I will arrive soon to confirm the suspect descriptions myself.” Morag ordered.

“Yes ma’am.” she nodded.

“Who’s on the line?” Brighid’s voice asked in the background.

“The rookie, she’s got eyewitness testimony.” Morag answered.

“I’ll get ready right away.”

After hanging up Kirin couldn’t help looking proud of herself. With their orders in mind, they relaxed at the clinic where Cerina showed them Kirin’s old room. It was full of wooden carvings of Blades and Airdanian warships.

“Quite the collector.” Ray chuckled.

“Well… I wouldn’t say I collected them… more I carved them…?” Kirin smiled nervously, putting her hands behind her back as she swayed her hips.

“You can wood carve?!” he exclaimed.

“Mom taught me how, so you should see some of the things she’s made. She’s the best wood carver in Veena. She used to travel around, but eventually settled down with dad after they met.” Kirin explained.

“Best decision of my life. It’s a very romantic story, I’ll tell it to you sometime.” Cerina beamed.

“I doubt that pestering me until I said yes is considered ‘romantic’.” Hugo stated, entering the room.

“Don’t act like you didn’t wanna say yes from the get-go, Mr. Grumpy Pants. You were totally into me.” Cerina giggled.

“Mom, dad… not in front of Ray…?” Kirin groaned.

“Haha, it’s okay Kirin. My parents are the same way a lot.” Ray chuckled.

“A Blade with parents? You’re part of that new generation of Blades then.” Cerina stated.

“Well, only certain Blades can do it. My mother was half of the original Aegis, so naturally she could. Same goes for my half-brother, Ventus. We were both born live, not born as a crystal that awakens on its own into a new Blade. I’ll grow up until I’m twenty and then that’ll be it, I’ll stop aging like the rest of the Parented Blades.” Ray explained.

“You will far outlive your father by centuries then.” Hugo nodded.

“I don’t like to think about that fact…” Ray chuckled nervously.

Soon evening arrived in Veena when Kirin spotted Morag and Brighid in the market. She couldn’t contain herself and dragged Ray with her to greet them.

“Ah, there you are.” Morag smiled.

“Do you have the suspect descriptions?” Brighid asked.

“Right here.” she replied, presenting her notepad.

“A visor and bodysuit clothing. Brighid, this is our man for sure.” Morag scowled.

“Something wrong?” Kirin asked.

“I suppose it’s fine to tell you since you helped us get a lead on him. His Majesty was attacked by this individual two nights ago. No matter his actions in this scenario, he has still committed a grave offense.” Brighid explained.

“What about the guy stealing people’s Blades?” Ray asked.

“Indeed. You managed to get a detailed description of them, so it should be much easier to find the culprit. From the looks of it, his attacks occur in the dead of night and on individuals. It explains how no one has caught sight of him and why large groups of people are never targeted.” Morag answered.

“The case in Gormott proves that wrong though, six Drivers at once. He isn’t afraid of going after groups.” Brighid shook her head.

“Are his attacks truly at random then…?” Morag groaned.

“I’ve got a shot in the dark theory. Kirin, is there anywhere in Veena where there might be a lot of Drivers?” Ray asked her.

“Yeah, the mine. Almost all of the miners are Drivers, their Blades make their work easier since they get enhanced stamina and strength. Not ones for fighting though. They’d sooner run for the hills.” she nodded.

“If it’s Drivers he’s after then there’s a good chance that’ll be his next hit. We already know he’s in the area, right?” Ray stated.

“An opportunity to catch them in the act.” Morag smirked.

“The night shift is only Drivers too. It would be a slaughter…” Kirin gasped.

“The moment night falls we’ll stake out the mine. With any luck, we’ll catch them.” Morag nodded.

At the appointed time they took cover in the shadows and watched the mine entrance at the outskirts of town. Some time began to pass and not a thing was happening.

“You don’t think… they could have entered the mine to ambush the workers…?” Ray asked.

“No one can get inside without identification normally. So if they did it’d have caused a ruckus that anyone could hear.” Kirin shook her head.

“Hold on…” Morag told them, looking intently at the gateway.

For a split second, the lights turned off briefly and then came back on. Morag then broke into a sprint for the mine entrance, making the others follow suit. Sure enough, the gate crew were unconscious and the doors were open.

“You were on the money with the mine being a target. Let’s go.” Morag scowled.

Inside the mine they found several workers lying conscious with wounds on their bodies. Not a single Blade was in sight. Heading deeper inside eventually led into a large room. A pale young man with slicked back brown hair was knelt down by a miner. He was dressed in black boots with red soles, a black bodysuit with red accentation, thick black gloves, and a combat visor similar in shape to a bird’s beak hiding his eyes. On his hips were a pair of tonfa that had a glowing blue crystal base with black casing around it. On the short ends were dragon heads and on the long ends were the claws holding glowing blue orbs. By his side was a Blade woman with dark skin and long red hair. She was dressed in red thigh high boots, black denim hot pants, a loose-fitting red turtleneck, black backless gloves, and sparkling ruby earrings. Glowing in her neck was her core crystal, partially hidden by the turtleneck.

“The wound’s brand new, we’re hot on his tail. Let’s move!” the young man growled, breaking into a sprint for the exit.

“Stop!” Morag roared, lashing flames to block the way.

“Rgh! What are you doing?! He’s going to get away!” he exclaimed.

“You are under arrest for attempting on the life of His Imperial Majesty.” Morag snarled.

“I already said that was a misunderstanding!” he growled, readying his tonfa.

“We don’t have time for this…” his Blade huffed.

“That’s the guy with weird weapons?” Ray questioned.

“Well, if he’s under arrest then we need to help out.” Kirin nodded, drawing her weapon.

“God damn it!” the young man cursed.

Off the bat he and his Blade showed tremendous agility, leaping into the fray with them. When Morag would think she’s tangled him he’d flip or roll and turn it on her, forcing her to release her whipswords. He was perfectly countering Kirin’s swordsmanship as well, stopping it with his tonfa before delivering a swift kick to her gut. His ability to narrowly dodge Morag’s flames to close the gap was getting on her nerves as well.

“Stop resisting!” Morag roared.

“Not until I stop him!” the young man replied.

She tried to unleash a full power blast and he grappled her unexpectedly to make her hit the wall of flames blocking the exit, putting them out. His Blade then suddenly grabbed Brighid from behind and slammed her down with a german suplex.

“Brighid!” Morag gasped.

“Stay down!” he roared, slamming both long ends of his tonfa into Morag’s body with a double elbow strike.

Morag couldn’t even shout from how much pain she was in, dropping her weapons to hold her ribs with both arms with her mouth held open. Kirin couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“Morag!” Brighid screamed.

The young man and his Blade then fled as Kirin rushed to Morag’s side. Drool was coming down from her mouth as her eyes trembled.

“Inquisitor Morag, are you alright?!” Kirin asked, horrified.

“G-Go… after…” she tried to speak as Brighid hugged her gently.

“Both of you, go after them. I need to get Morag medical attention immediately.” Brighid ordered in her stead.

“Is she going to be okay?” Ray asked.

“I don’t know, but what’s important is not losing them!” Brighid replied.

“L-Let’s go.” Kirin nodded to Ray.

The two then hurried through the opening, finding more miners unconscious. The mine just seemed to keep doing, and the wounded kept piling up. After entering Junction C-4, they found a change of pace. Miners who were wounded, but still conscious and clutching core crystals to their chests like newborn babies. Hurrying on they could hear sounds of fighting. In the furthest tunnels Miners were being tended to by their Blades. At the refinery the young man was fighting with a tall muscular man with long shaggy white hair. 

His arms and neck were wrapped like the description. His pants were dark green hakama and on his feet were bronze armored boots. In his right hand was a sword shaped remarkably like a two-handed Monado with its handle in the center rather than to the left or right of the center ring. The blade of the sword was completely made of a glowing green light. Glowing bright in his chest was beyond a doubt a red Aegis core crystal. Hanging off his shoulders was a little girl with long golden hair held in twin ponytails. She was dressed in a black gothic lolita dress with black stockings and white shoes. She was holding a burlap bag that seemed filled with something.

“Another…? *Kyvernitis… handle them.” the little girl huffed.

“An Aegis. I can’t drain him like I can the others.” the man stated, analyzing Ray.

“Give those crystals back!” the young man screamed, leaping to deliver a kick that Kyvernitis blocked, but the wind of it made the girl slip off.

When her sack hit the ground a bunch of core crystals went spilling out. Before she could scoop them back in he picked her up by the waist.

“The crystals…” she whimpered, reaching for the bag.

“I don’t need them. I already collected their ether.” he scolded, stopping another swing from the young man.

“When they regenerate they’ll have more…”

“I said leave them!” he roared, knocking the young man away.

“Stop! You’re _both_ under arrest!” Kirin cried, readying for battle shakily.

“Don’t resist!” Ray followed up.

“Damn it, listen to me! _They’re_ the ones who need to be arrested!” the young man barked.

“We’re innocent.” his Blade nodded.

“We’re leaving.” Kyvernitis huffed, turning to make his energy blade shift shape into a cannon of sorts that then lanced a hole out of the mine.

“You aren’t going anywhere!” the young man roared, charging him.

“Hold it!” Kirin cried, charging in.

“ **Monado Disruptor!** ” he roared, making a symbol appear in the ring as he swung his blade to unleash a purple mist.

“AGH!!!” the young man’s Blade screamed, sparking with purple electricity as the mist touched her.

The young man’s tonfa then vanished into thin air making him skid to a stop to get a knee to the face, shattering his visor. Kirin’s weapon was unaffected, however. She swung and made a long scorched black wound in his body as he turned so the girl wouldn’t be hit.

“RGH!!!”

“Kyvernitis!” the little girl cried.

“I’m fine!” he roared, headbutting Kirin knocking her over.

He then leapt through the hole he made in the mine with a single bound. Ray hurried to help Kirin sit up as she wiped blood from her nose.

“Damn it…” Kirin groaned, sniffling a little.

“We can still take those two in.” Ray told her, pointing out the young man unconscious with his Blade very slowly crawling toward him on all fours.

“Curtis… I’m… sorry…” the young man’s Blade groaned before losing consciousness, managing to touch hands with him.

“I’d say they have the right to remain silent… but they’re unconscious and therefore silent.” Kirin giggled sheepishly.

The two then cuffed them, gathered the scattered core crystals, and then left the mine. At the clinic a room was locked with a sign on it reading “Surgery In Progress”. Waiting anxiously outside of the room was Brighid, clenching her fists tight.

“Lady Brighid. We’re back.” Ray spoke to her.

“You managed to catch them?!” she gasped, standing up.

“Yes. We also saw the other suspect, but they got away. We also recovered a lot of stolen core crystals.” Kirin explained.

“Who’s in the surgery room?” Ray asked.

“Morag is… the doctor said… that her ribs had been completely smashed and she was bleeding internally. He isn’t sure if he can save her, but he said that he’s going to try his damndest.” Brighid sniffled.

“That’s dad alright. He never gives up on a life he could potentially save.” Kirin nodded.

“So your family runs this clinic…?” Brighid asked.

“Yeah. Dad’s licensed to perform medical tasks across Alrest. Mom assists him when he needs physical manpower. She works with the woodworking lodge, making furniture and stuff, but always has time to help out when needed.” she nodded.

The door then opened and Hugo exited, breathing a heavy sigh. Brighid couldn’t contain herself.

“Is she going to be okay?!” Brighid cried.

“Well, in the worst case scenario her physical stamina will be harshly impacted but she’ll make it. I repaired her ribs as best I could. In her current condition I can’t allow anyone to see her, to minimize risk of her over exerting herself and reopening the surgery wounds.” Hugo explained.

“Morag…” Brighid sighed, sinking to her knees hard making Ray dive to prevent her from hitting something.

“Lady Brighid?!” Kirin gasped.

“I’ll be fine… I’m just… just so relieved… I thought I was going to lose her… she was in so much pain as I brought her back… just give me a few minutes and I’ll be ready to help with your interrogation.” Brighid giggled as she cried.

“Dad, sorry to drop this on you, but we’ll need to use my old room to interrogate these two.” Kirin told him.

“It’s _your_ room.” he shrugged.

Kirin and Ray then carried their catch to her room. The young man then began to come to.

“What the…? Son of a bitch… hog tie me why don’t you...” he groaned, figuring out fast he’s had both his hands and feet cuffed.

“All right. Start talking. Who are you? Why did you attack the emperor?” Kirin asked him.

“I didn’t _attack_ him, I _saved_ him! That guy, Kyvernitis, was going to take his Blade! I’ve been trying to take him down!” he roared, wriggling in his binds.

“Uh-huh. Inquisitor Morag wouldn’t have tried to arrest you if you were trying to do that.” Kirin huffed.

“What reason do I have to lie?!” he exclaimed.

“What reason do I have to believe it’s the truth?” she argued.

“You _saw_ him and what he’s done with your _own eyes_ , for god’s sake!” he groaned.

“That doesn’t mean you didn’t attempt on the emperor. There’s also trespassing for infiltrating the palace in the first place.” she narrowed her eyes.

“You didn’t answer her question. Who are you?” Ray pointed out.

“Screw off. Not like you’d believe me anyway since you won’t believe me even when I’m telling the truth of what happened.” he huffed.

“You’ll answer their question.” Brighid’s voice ordered.

The Blade then stormed into the room and lifted him by the throat. Her eyes were wide open compared to usual. That was a clear sign her temper was not right in her current state.

“Before I lose what little of my patience that remains, preferably.” Brighid growled.

“Shove it…” he growled back.

“Fine.” she glared, summoning one of her whipswords to her free hand.

“Lady Brighid?!” Kirin gasped as she readied to take the blade to him.

“He is Curtis Maxwell! I am Nue! It is the truth, I swear to the Architect! Just don’t hurt him!” the young man’s Blade cried in a panic.

“Does Mor Ardain always interrogate like this…?” Ray asked.

“Lady Brighid is usually one of the most cool headed interrogators out there. He must have truly made her angry when he injured the consul.” Kirin grimaced.

“Your Blade seems to be in the mood to talk.” Brighid huffed, dropping Curtis.

“A-All right. Um. Miss Nue, why did you attempt on the emperor?” Kirin asked her.

“He already told you why. It is a misunderstanding. To explain ourselves we need to explain who Kyvernitis and his Driver are.” Nue answered as Brighid made her sit up.

“I’m curious about those two. He made your weapon vanish, but mine didn’t, allowing Kirin to hurt him.” Ray spoke up.

“Kyvernitis is not just any Blade… but a True Aegis Class Blade. His Driver is Curtis’s little sister, Ebony. We opened a ruin in the world below the cloud sea and were exploring, and that’s when we found his core crystal in the depths. The ruin was damaged, so we could bypass the security with a little exploration.” Nue explained.

“Below the cloud sea…? You’re both Elysians then? The only way below the cloud sea is near the mega continent of Elysium. They’re researching the old world there.” Ray stated.

“Not another word, Nue… they won’t believe us.” Curtis ordered.

“I believe my eyes, and I saw him neutralize her ability to grant you power. I want to learn more about Kyvernitis.” Ray told him.

“In fairness, you also found me down there, Curtis. If we want them to trust us we need to come clean.” Nue sighed.

“If they’ll even believe us…”

“Start talking and we’ll decide if we believe you after.” Kirin huffed.

“Tch… fine. Ebony and I went under the cloud sea four years ago, it was supposed to be a research expedition. We found a soft spot in the ground near the destroyed world tree’s roots and fell through. That’s where we found the facility… and where I found Nue’s core crystal, just lying there on the floor. I resonated with her without thinking. That’s when I became a Driver. Later in the same facility we found the room Nue mentioned, with Kyvernitis in it. It wasn’t just his core crystal though. He was already manifested, and in one of those mech things. What’d they call ‘em again…? Whatever, the point is that’s what we found him in.” Curtis told them.

“An Artifice. I did hear they can be manually piloted, but without an energy source they’re giant paperweights.” Ray stated.

“What happened next?” Brighid asked them.

“Ebony touched his crystal and the thing ejected Kyvernitis out on top of her. When he came to, he spouted some nonsense about a cleanse, forced Ebony to be his Driver, and then went on a rampage. He drained the ether out of every Blade he struck with his weapon, a ‘Monado’ I think he called it. He also did things that should be impossible, you know? Like forcing Blades back to core crystal form without killing the Driver, he’d wound them but it’d count for whatever reason.” Curtis explained.

“Severing the bond between Driver and Blade without taking their lives… that matches everything we’ve seen him do so far.” Ray nodded.

“Wait, forced her? That would definitely make him an Aegis Class Blade at the least.” Kirin pointed out.

“This is very disconcerting. To my knowledge the only True Aegises left should be Pyra, Mythra, and their sons Ventus, and Ray. There were Malos and Pneuma, but they’re long gone.” Brighid grimaced.

“Kyvernitis never said what kind of cleanse he was going to carry out, but whatever it is can’t be good. He’s draining Blades of their ether because he needs more power. Each one he drains makes him that much stronger. Nue and I have been trying to stop him since that day. The only ones he can’t drain are Blades that don’t use ether… I think it’s obvious which Blades that means.” Curtis told them.

“Aegis Class Blades. From what I know, they also don’t run on ether.” Kirin nodded.

“Not even Artificial Blades would be safe from Kyvernitis, since they need an ether furnace to work.” Brighid pointed out.

“Why is your sister helping him?” Ray asked.

“I don’t know. She was extremely against it when he took her, screaming to put her down, but the next time we met… she was… I don’t know… at peace with what he was trying to do? She wasn’t acting like herself at all. Refused to reject him.” Curtis sighed.

“So when he went after His Imperial Majesty…” Kirin mumbled.

“We infiltrated the palace to interfere and prevent a tragedy. Unfortunately that gave us a very bad look when we tackled the emperor to the ground before the guards burst in. Kyvernitis split before they saw him, making us look even worse.” Curtis answered.

“Hmm…” Brighid mumbled, tapping her foot.

“It’s the truth, we swear!” Nue cried.

“We will just have to see what His Majesty thinks.” Brighid sighed.

“Oh come on!” Curtis groaned.

“Lady Brighid, I believe that we can trust them. His Majesty should still hear their side of the story though. Their explanation has far too many logical explanations that make sense to be a lie.” Kirin told her.

“Can they explain why they had to break Morag’s ribs…?” Brighid scowled.

“That one is my bad. I forgot that arte had an airblast after effect.” Curtis grimaced.

“Do you know that you nearly cost her her life? Would you have taken responsibility if you had killed her? If we so chose, we could take you to prison anyway no matter what your reasons are for attempted murder and assaulting an officer.” Brighid asked, making him sit up to stare into his eyes.

“I’ll say this once so it’s clear: we do not kill people on purpose unless absolutely necessary. Real sorry that I accidentally put her in critical condition. Of course, you people didn’t listen when I told you the real bad guy was getting away… but when has Mor Ardain ever listened to others before it’s too late…?” Curtis huffed.

“Curtis, really not helping our case right now.” Nue sighed.

“Now about those core crystals…” Ray mentioned.

“The stolen ones. Every last one. Good luck trying to return them to the appropriate Drivers though… that’s going to be hell in a handbasket. I also don’t know why Ebony was taking them, so don’t bother asking.” Curtis explained.

“Lady Brighid… I know you’re still angry about Inquisitor Morag, but I’d like to take them to see His Majesty.” Kirin told her.

“Very well. If they resist or try to run for it, show them no quarter.” Brighid ordered.

“As long as I can walk… my legs are stiff.” Curtis sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Note: Sorry Morag.  
> *Kyvernitis - The meaning behind his name is "Ruler", but the word can mean either "Commander" or "Ruler", so specifying here. Greek words are weird.


	3. Kyvernitis

The day was young as the group reached the Stone Valley once more. Ray was walking behind Curtis and Nue while Kirin took the front. Everything seemed peaceful.

“You know we’ve had something stalking us for a while now, right?” Curtis broke the silence.

“Oh come on, that’s the oldest one in the book next to ‘what’s that over there’.” Kirin huffed.

“Curtis has a natural sixth sense for danger. He doesn’t relax unless every single hair on his head is at ease. If he says there’s danger then odds are there is something closeby.” Nue told her.

“Target locked. Engaging.”

The group hit the deck as something flew over them. When they got a good look it was a male robot of some kind. Its forearms and forelegs were heavily armored, its biceps and thighs were little more than cylinders with exposed hydraulics mechanisms, its body was poorly armored leaving an ether furnace in its stomach exposed, it had black metal on its head to shape hair that spiked up in the back, glowing red eyes, and a ragged red scarf around its neck that fluttered in the wind. In its upper back were two large protrusions resembling jet engines.

“Is that… an Artificial Blade?!” Kirin gasped.

“Target remains. Recalculating course.” it spoke as steam released from vents in its forearms, forelegs, and shoulders.

“Uh-oh…” Kirin swallowed nervously, drawing her sword as Ray hurried to her side.

The supposed Artificial Blade was lightning quick and had a knack for evasion. Kirin was barely keeping up with the thing. Her weapon bounced off of its forearms and forelegs too, and it kept shielding its exposed parts with them.

“Get us out of these cuffs, we can help!” Curtis cried.

“You’re prisoners, not citizens.” Kirin groaned, blocking another attempt to punch her.

“Damn it, this isn’t the time to be worried about that!” Curtis argued.

“Kirin, at this rate… we might have to go 100%...” Ray groaned.

“Damn… swear you will not run!” Kirin ordered.

“If we wanted to run we’d have done that already.” Curtis huffed.

When Kirin got a moment she tossed the key to Ray, who then ran to the two. He undid Curtis’s shackles and he called Nue’s tonfa to his hands, rushing toward Kirin. The Artificial Blade tried to punch her as Curtis grabbed Kirin’s shoulder, driving both feet into its jaw with Kirin acting as a balance of sorts, knocking it back. He then delivered a lightning quick combo to it making it stumble back, turning on its engines to stop itself.

“New target acquired. Recalculating strategy.” it muttered.

“I’ve got no reason to run. Not when His Majesty might be willing to hear me out.” Curtis huffed.

“Thankfully I don’t need my hands to support Curtis.” Nue smirked.

“I can unlock yours too if you want.” Ray offered.

“Nah. I’ll leave them on for now as a gesture of trust.” she shook her head.

With Curtis helping, the aggro was drastically taken off of Kirin. He drew attention like a tank, but was agile enough that he couldn’t be touched. He was great at dealing counter damage as well, delivering the hits in the instant he would have taken damage. He had the ability to inflict Break on it allowing Kirin to Topple it as well. They were dealing some serious damage to it now.

“Miscalculation detected. Increasing Ether Furnace output from 150% to 300%...” the Artificial Blade growled.

“It was already beyond 100% output?! Is this thing trying to have a meltdown?!” Curtis gasped.

The Artificial Blade moved fast as lightning now, but its body was obviously under way more stress now. When they would block they could hear the strain in its hydraulics and servos. Even still it was getting to be too much for the two to handle. It eventually knocked Curtis away and kicked Kirin hard in the gut sending her sliding back, making her fall to one knee when she stopped.

“Kirin!” Ray gasped.

“S-Shit…” she groaned.

“This will be the final blow…” the Artificial Blade snarled, charging up its jets.

“You overgrown tin can… you won’t hurt her!” Ray roared.

He then engulfed himself in flames and stepped out in his battle armor. The flame of his weapon then focused and intensified. Kirin gave a nod to him and readied to attack once more.

“Futile.”

It charged and Kirin swung as it passed by. Kirin stumbled a bit as the Artificial Blade turned around, and then its left arm literally exploded making it stumble ten steps to the left. It looked at the sparking stub in shock, then glared at her.

“Increasing Ether Furnace Output.” he growled.

“You won’t be hurting her again. Kirin, unleash my Ultimate Blade Arte, ‘ **Damned Sabre** ’!” Ray scowled, making the blade flame somehow focus even further.

“Here goes!” Kirin roared, raising the weapon into the air causing the blade of flame to increase in size tenfold and take on a sinister blood red color.

She swung once horizontally making a huge wound in the Artificial Blade’s body, and then she performed a front flip to bring the blade down vertically forming a cross-shaped injury. It began sparking wildly and tried to charge her when Nue leapt in and delivered a powerful kick to its jaw, knocking it flying into a boulder where it detonated. When the smoke cleared the Artificial Blade was miraculously still there, but all of its limbs by the left leg were completely gone and its Ether Furnace was exploded from the inside resembling a flower. It fell lifelessly to the ground as Ray returned to his regular clothing, making his weapon also revert.

“Noooooooooooooooooo! Jerri went explodey-splodey!” a voice screamed in horror.

The Nopon Tora then flew past them on the back of Poppi QTPie to the Blade’s smoking husk. Poppi then changed to her smaller self.

“This big problem for masterpon. Jerri supposed to be cute little brotherpon to Poppi.” Poppi groaned.

“Tora still not know why Jerri go rogue though. Shame he go explodey-splodey. Will have to repair and replace nearly everything.” Tora sighed.

“Uh… was that your Blade…?” Kirin asked, getting their attention.

“Ah! So sorry not introduced self! I am Tora, Artificial Blade Engineer. This is Tora’s Blade, Poppi. She is Second Generation Artificial Blade.” Tora introduced himself and Poppi.

“Greetings.” Poppi waved.

“Tora, it’s been ages!” Ray smiled, jogging over to him.

“Oh! Ray-Ray, it been long-long time! How is Rex-Rex?” Tora cheered.

“Tora?  _ The _ Tora? The one who traveled with the Aegis?” Curtis asked.

“Haha, yes, is same Tora. Tora is in business of making Artificial Blades now. Working with dadapon to mass produce. That said, hit major snag. During startup test on Third Generation Artificial Blade ‘Jerri’, he go… erm… rogue… ahaha…” Tora explained.

“Masterpon and Poppi been giving chase for five days and five nights. Poppi thought Ether Furnace would have run out of energy by now. Was surprised when Jerri would not slow down even a bit. Could not even keep up in biggest form.” Poppi nodded.

“Well. We need to head to Mor Ardain’s capital. These two need to see His Majesty.” Ray told the Nopon.

“Really-truly? Tora and Poppi need to go see emperor too. Were going to report on Jerri progress. Tora will just keep test model going rogue our little secret.” Tora smiled.

“Jerri is a naughty little brotherpon. He doesn’t listen to masterpon at all.” Poppi spoke, poking the ruined Artificial Blade’s cheek.

“You two could have run… but you didn’t.” Kirin stated, looking at Curtis and Nue.

“Running would have done the opposite of what we want to accomplish.” Curtis huffed.

“If we want you to trust us then we need to speak with His Majesty. Curtis is a little bullheaded, sure, but we can’t do this alone. Not when Kyvernitis can nullify my ability to provide Curtis any benefits.” Nue nodded.

“I’m not bullheaded, just stubborn. I can be reasonable when I want to be.” Curtis frowned.

“I guess we can all head to the capital together.” Ray smiled.

“Poppi will carry naughty little brotherpon, as good big sisterpon should.” Poppi stated, transforming to QT mode to lift Jerri’s body.

“Big sister?” Ray questioned.

“Ah, Tora explain. Jerri is Third Generation while Poppi is Second Generation. That mean her model come first, which makes her Jerri’s big sisterpon. When mass production begin for the people unable to use Blades, Poppi will be big sisterpon of many Artificial Blades. She is super excited and wants to be good sisterpon.” Tora explained.

“Poppi aims to be great role model.” Poppi nodded.

The group continued into the valley and the trip was much more lively with Tora and Poppi around. Ray explained that Tora used to come around Fonsett a lot when he and Ventus were little. They used to play tag and hide and seek with Poppi all the time, though she won every single game. Pyra and Mythra couldn’t keep up with their energy, so Poppi was exceptionally good at playing with them for extended periods. Ray had wondered why they stopped coming around. It turned out that development on Jerri had Tora immensely busy.

Even Tora was amazed at Curtis’s agility in battle. The wildlife was still pretty riled up, so they had plenty of chances to see it in action. He was surprised by Nue’s boldness too, readily charging to deliver several kick combinations in conjunction with Curtis’s attacks. It was nearly sunset when they arrived back at the city.

“Curtis-Curtis, where did you learn that fighting style?” Tora asked him.

“Nue taught me. Back when we first met I… wasn’t much of a fighter, to be honest. Could barely use them. So she started teaching me. She didn’t hold back at all, so most of our spars ended with me covered in bruises.” Curtis replied.

“A teacher does not slack off in her student’s lessons.” Nue commented.

When the group reached the palace Kirin had to put handcuffs back on Curtis, since the official report is they’re prisoners. At the audience hall the guards looked nervous to say the least.

“Something wrong?” Kirin asked them.

“Mind yer manners in there, you hear? The Aegis’s Driver has come…” the left guard replied.

“Is… the Aegis in there with him…?” Ray asked nervously.

“Why wouldn’t they be? Those three are right glued to each other.” the right guard answered.

“Ray-Ray look a little pale.” Tora commented.

“I  _ may _ have forgotten to write with everything that’s been happening…” Ray confessed.

The group then entered the audience hall. Ray was nervously sweating as he saw them in front of Niall’s throne. When they turned around Ray’s heart felt like exploding from the anticipation.

“Ray!” Pyra cried, rushing to hug him tightly.

“M-Mom?!” Ray exclaimed in shock, having fully expected a slap.

“He’s okay?! Thank goodness…” Rex sighed, nearly falling over.

“We were so worried… when we saw Kyvernitis with a wound only you could have made…” Pyra smiled, shedding a tear.

“Wait, you know Kyvernitis?!” Ray gasped.

“Not us personally, but Pneuma and the other Aegis, Malos, did. We have her memories though, so we know how she knew him.” Mythra answered.

“So we can get some answers then.” Kirin smiled.

The air in the room got somber as Ray and Kirin gave their report on the mines to Niall. He looked concerned, and both Pyra and Mythra were visibly nervous.

“Kyvernitis… if Pneuma’s memories are to be believed, he was intended to be a ‘reset button’ of sorts. Should the world rebel against the Architect, he would cleanse the world and bring it back to a state of infancy. In other words, if Pneuma and Malos fail in their duties as the Aegis he would return ‘divine order’ to the world.” Mythra explained.

“The Architect, after banishing mankind to the Cloud Sea… had second thoughts about Kyvernitis and his purpose. He tried to destroy him, but Kyvernitis awoke instead… and due to his purpose believed that it was time to carry out the aforementioned ‘cleanse’. The Architect managed to stop the cleanse, but beyond that Pneuma did not know what happened to him. After all, not long after that is when Amalthus climbed the World Tree. His main tool for the cleanse is an Artifice named ‘Zanza’.” Pyra continued the story.

“Artifice Zanza must be what we found him in.” Curtis nodded to Nue.

“Unlike our Siren that required the power of the Conduit to function, Zanza runs off of pure ether energy and acts as an amplifier for Kyvernitis’s powers. What you told us lines up with that. He’s gathering the condensed ether contained inside of Blades so that Zanza can give him the strength to cleanse the world.” Mythra told them.

“Couldn’t he just cleanse without Zanza?” Ray asked.

“Not possible. Even with all the ether in the world he wouldn’t have enough power. He was designed that way so he can’t accidentally end the world prematurely. We can ruin his plans if we find and destroy Zanza before he can gather enough ether.” Pyra shook her head.

“So this Kyvernitis is the one behind the Blade thefts… and normal Blades can’t hope to touch him.” Niall spoke, looking contemplative.

“We have the upper hand in this situation. Nue and I know where Zanza is. If I know my expedition team, and I do, they excavated Zanza after they found us in the ruin. That means that it’s in Elysium’s Science Department right now.” Curtis told them.

“Great. Let’s go smash it up then.” Rex smiled.

“Rex, you are volunteering to accompany our rookie investigator on this mission?” Niall asked him.

“Well, yeah. Besides, I’ve gotta give Ray a good talking to for running away.” Rex beamed.

“Knew it…” Ray sighed.

“You didn’t think you were escaping punishment did you?” Mythra giggled.

“You ran away from home, mister. You’re going to get a long lecture tonight, so clean those ears of yours really well so you learn your lesson.” Pyra frowned, leaning in close.

“Not by my choice…” Ray groaned.

“Well, if serious business over, Tora need to speak with Emperorpon about Third Generation Artificial Blade. Just ignore fact that prototype is splodey-sploded.” Tora smiled.

“If you’ll excuse us then, we’ll be borrowing Ray.” Pyra smiled, hooking Ray’s arm.

“Kirin if I don’t make it back I’m sorry.” Ray grimaced.

“Eh?”

“Come on.” Mythra huffed, hooking his other arm so the two could drag him away.

“Relax, he’ll be in one piece come morning.” Rex laughed, jogging to catch up.

“Can you remove my cuffs now?” Curtis asked.

“Not until His Majesty approves it.” Kirin replied.

Morning came and Kirin left the palace with Curtis and Nue in tow to fetch Ray at the inn. Rex, Pyra, and Mythra looked well rested, but Ray wasn’t with them.

“Where’s Ray?” Kirin asked.

“He’s resting some more. The lecture went on a bit longer than anticipated. Mythra had quite a few words for him.” Pyra giggled.

“You didn’t say  _ enough _ was the problem. We searched both Gormott and Uraya head to toe for him. He didn’t send us a single letter.” Mythra frowned.

“Come on, he said he was sorry and he really meant to write. Isn’t that enough?” Rex chuckled.

Ray then exited the inn yawning and stretching. He definitely didn’t look ready to be up yet.

“Still not a morning person, ey?” Rex laughed.

“Like I can help it. I’ve only been Kirin’s Blade for a few days now.” Ray yawned.

“Well rub the sleep from your eyes. We’ve kept Azurda waiting long enough.” Mythra told him.

“Gramps is here?” Ray asked.

“Gramps?” the others questioned.

“You guys will see.” Ray beamed.

They made their way to the pier and waiting there was the great Titan known as Gramps.

“Oh… Ray. It is good to see you in good health. I have already been informed of our destination.” Gramps chuckled.

“Hiya Gramps. Sorry if I scared you, vanishing like that.” Ray smiled.

“It would not be the first time you and Ventus have given me a good scare, and I am fairly certain it will not be the last.” Gramps laughed.

“So… your grandfather is a Titan…?” Kirin asked.

“You know what they say: bonds can be stronger than blood. Gramps raised dad, and he helped raise me and Ventus too. Ventus and I used to be cheap at hide and seek by hiding in his neck hair.” Ray smiled.

“So that’s why I could never find you two!” Mythra scowled.

“You helped them in that too. Shame on you, Azurda.” Pyra giggled.

“It was not cheating. Your only rule was to stay in Fonsett, and as I was docked in Fonsett I  _ was _ technically within bounds.” Gramps chuckled.

“He’s got you there, Mythra.” Rex laughed.

“You were definitely guilty of cheating, Rex. Hiding using the salvaging crane to slip into the cloud sea, if my memory is right.” Pyra smirked.

“I was still in Fonsett!” Rex flinched.

“Who would think to reel up the salvaging crane, Rex? Besides, Ray and Ventus wouldn’t have been allowed to operate it to check there.” Mythra squinted at him.

“Titan’s foot, take it easy… that was years ago.” Rex sighed.

“Your family is friendly.” Kirin commented.

“Yeah. Often Blade Hybrid Families are a little rocky, since if your mom or dad kicks the bucket the corresponding parent won’t remember them at all, so me and Ventus have got it good.” Ray beamed.

Once they were all aboard Gramps, the Titan began his voyage. The weather was great and the sun was still young. Pyra and Mythra had many questions for Kirin as well, and were actually shocked to learn that she can’t resonate with core crystals normally. That really drove home what Ray’s trust in her as his Driver meant to Kirin. He was giving her the chance to truly know what it feels like to be in the field without need of bulky equipment.

The following day the good weather seemed to keep up. Kirin woke up to the sound of a conversation. Not wanting to disturb, she remained on her side.

“So why did you go down there? To the ruined world, I mean.” Mythra asked.

“Elysium’s government wants to learn as much about the old world as possible. We’re always studying weird finds down there. Uncovering Kyvernitis itself was just an accident as we explored.” Curtis replied.

“I mean why did you join the expedition force? You’re about Ray’s age. Shouldn’t you have been trying to enjoy life?” Mythra rephrased her question.

“Ebony and I… from a young age we only had each other. Makes me jealous of Ray and Kirin. We got by thanks to the expedition crew letting us help with cargo. Of course, at the time we were small, so they only let us handle the small non-delicate stuff. Over time, we got curious about the world below. We never went down ourselves, age restrictions and everything. The day came when we were both able to go… and well, what happened happened. A few years later, here we are.” he explained.

“I feel like you skipped some details.” Mythra told him.

“I really didn’t. When we get to Elysium just about everyone will be able to vouch for me.” he shook his head.

The day continued on and Kirin couldn’t help thinking about what she overheard. If Ebony is all he has in the way of family, then he’d understandably be desperate to get her back. It made his unrelenting chase of Kyvernitis make sense. Not thinking straight, willing to do whatever it takes to get her back.

In the early morning of the third day they finally arrived at Elysium’s one and only dockyard, Grey Port. The people there recognized Curtis for sure, which made his story hold us. The Elysian then began leading the way across the lush grasslands of the only non-Titan continent in the world. He even knew the wildlife inside and out making for a rather splendid walk. It wasn’t long before they arrived in Colony 1. It was big and supported by concrete foundation. In the center of town was a massive hatch in the floor. Guard rails surrounded it except for a square platform area.

“Alright. Across the way is the Science Facility. With any luck, they’ve already begun dismantling Zansa to figure out how it works.” Curtis told them.

“Let’s go.” Ray nodded.

Curtis led the group into the facility and just about every room had something going on. Each lab had machinery they’d never seen before being dissected and experimented with. The people of Elysium themselves seemed to be a mixing pot of Gormotti, Ardainian, Urayan, Leftherian, and Tantalese. In the very back of the building was Hangar 9. Entering the room, they saw a massive Artifice sitting in the back of the room. Its hull was jet black and the machine itself resembled a humanoid mech. Its fingers were each sharp like blades and it seemed to have a toothy grinning face. A green energy pulsed through its veins now and then.

“Artifice Zansa…” Pyra swallowed nervously.

“There’s no mistaking that visage. It’s heavily damaged, but definitely the Artifice from Pneuma’s memory. So they really did excavate it...” Mythra nodded.

“To what pleasure do I owe the Aegis paying our humble lab a visit?” a voice asked.

From the other room, a male Urayan scientist wearing goggles came in. At his side was an animal type common Blade.

“Ken. Is Otharon around?” Curtis asked.

“Otharon? He’s on another expedition, why?” Ken replied.

“We kind of need to scrap this thing. If we don’t, then all of us could be wiped out.” he explained.

“What? Nonsense. Without the conduit this thing’s a glorified paperweight.” Ken laughed.

“No. Zanza was designed to be different. All it needs is the ether stored within Kyvernitis to activate and begin amplifying his power.” Mythra told him.

“Oh please. The Artifices are important to our world’s history. I can’t let you destroy it.” Ken huffed.

“Sorry about this, Ken.” Curtis sighed before promptly knocking his lights out in a single punch.

“Let’s scrap this thing.” Rex nodded, drawing both Pyra and Mythra’s blades at once.

The group began attacking Artifice Zanza, but none of their attacks seemed to scratch it. Pyra, Mythra, and Ray’s weapons were leaving scorch marks and scratches, but nothing major. Curtis’s tonfa weren’t doing anything at all but bounce off.

“What is this…? We’re using our full power and not doing a thing.” Rex commented.

“Zanza has an ether shield. It can be overpowered with brute force, but doing so is a bad idea.” Pyra explained.

“How are we supposed to destroy it then? Only Kyvernitis can open it.” Mythra asked.

“Simple. You won’t.” Kyvernitis’s voice spoke.

The man then broke his way through the ceiling knocking Rex and Kirin away from Zanza. Curtis then tried to attack only to be parried and knocked flying.

“So he is alive…” Mythra growled.

“Pneuma… no… Pneuma’s ‘children’ so to speak, gifted life after her sacrifice... I see now… so the boy there would be considered Pneuma’s grandchild.” Kyvernitis huffed, looking at the three Aegises.

“Where’s Ebony you bastard!?” Curtis roared, attempting again only to get knocked backward once more.

“This connection explains why I could sense Pneuma from both that boy and the other one…” Kyvernitis spoke, narrowing his gaze.

“Other one…? Ventus!” Ray gasped.

“Ah yes, that was his name. He held a great deal of power… but his temper got the better of him. He’s probably nursing his Driver back to health about now. The fool failed to realize that he too cannot control going to 100% of his full power, harming his Driver in the process. When I left him, he was crying like a little child...” he grinned.

“Bastard!” Rex roared, getting to his feet.

“Let’s get him, Kirin!” Ray roared.

“Right!” she nodded.

The three Drivers began fighting Kyvernitis and he simply showed incredible strength and agility. He startled Pyra and Mythra by employing Monado Artes. He could put up a shield to ignore their Driver Combos and even put Curtis out of commission for a bit with his Monado Disruptor arte. They didn’t seem to be getting anywhere.

“Damn it…” Ray growled.

“Ray. Go 100%.” Kirin ordered.

“What? You’ll get burned!” he exclaimed.

“I only need it for a few seconds.” Kirin told him.

“Don’t blame me if you get burned…” he groaned.

Flames then transformed his clothing as the flame of his sword became more intense. Kirin then charged at significantly increased speed, catching Kyvernitis off guard putting him on the defensive. She was cleaving through his shield as well. Kirin then saw a vision of Kyvernitis performing a sweeping strike and leapt over it delivering a burnt black wound to his back.

“RGH!!! I HAVE TO EXPEND ETHER TO HEAL THAT!!!”

“W-What was that…? I saw what he was… going to do...” Kirin panted as Ray reverted to normal, making her blade’s flame normalize.

“Foresight?” Mythra gasped.

“His shield’s down!” Rex roared, charging.

“Don’t press your luck!” Kyvernitis roared, knocking Rex flying, crashing into Pyra and Mythra.

Kirin tried to strike again and he grabbed hold of the blade, seeming to ignore the fact it was burning him, and threw her across the room. He then placed a hand on Zansa making the Artifice roar to life and open its pilot hatch.

“I will cleanse this world… but first I need to gather more ether. Much… much more...” Kyvernitis huffed, climbing in so it closed on him.

“Kyvernitis!” Ray roared, taking his weapon from Kirin to charge and leave another scorch mark on it. 

“You possess a power that the Aegis Pyra does not… how interesting… but I can contemplate that at my leisure.” Kyvernitis chuckled before taking off with powerful thrusters in the back of Zansa.

“Damn it!” Ray roared, stomping his foot.

“Even with the original Aegis on our side… we barely hurt him…” Curtis panted.

“I’m worried about Ventus.” Pyra spoke up.

“Let’s go back to New Mor Ardain and see if he’s returned from Gormott.” Mythra nodded.

“We’re in no state to travel. We should stay in town tonight.” Kirin sighed, looking at her gloves seeing that they’ve been singed.

At the inn the Drivers had their wounds seen to. Mythra decided to check on Ray to find him outside of his room looking out over the railing. He looked incredibly upset.

“Ray. About Ventus…” Mythra sighed.

“I know Ventus has a bad temper… but not being able to control 100%? That can’t be right, can it…? He said his Driver can control his power.” Ray interrupted.

“Ray. You already know how Blade Hybrids, live born or core born, will inherit 50% to 75% of their parents’ original power, right? That means you and Ventus will be stronger than both Pyra and me when you’re all grown up. You probably already are. That’s a lot of power to try and control, and your Driver in particular has a handicap in that area.” Mythra explained.

“So… Ventus wasn’t aware he wasn’t using 100% of his power?” Ray asked.

“Probably not. You’re both True Aegises, and the power you possess could easily rip a Titan in two if you aren’t careful. Pyra should be the one having this talk with you though…” Mythra answered.

“Kirin said she saw what he was going to do. What was that about?” Ray asked her.

“Well. Pyra and I both got our powers from our true form, a Blade named Pneuma. My Foresight comes from her. I guess the data for that power is dormant inside of Pyra too, and was then passed on to you where it became active again… but only when you’re using 100% of your power. We are a strange family, so who can say how you actually got it?” she replied.

“I wonder if that means Ventus has some weird powers too.” Ray sighed.

“Ray. If your powers weren’t what you think they are, how would you react?” Mythra asked him.

“What kind of question is that?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Like, if your fire wasn’t fire.” Mythra elaborated.

“I dunno. I’ve always had the power of fire, so it’s hard to imagine if I used something different…” he shrugged, resting against the railing.

“Ray…”

“Not often that you two talk.” Pyra interrupted their conversation.

“You’re still up?” Mythra asked.

“I finally got Rex to take it easy and sleep. He puts on a strong show but he really took a beating in that fight.” Pyra smiled.

“How is Kirin by the way?” Mythra asked Ray.

“Sleeping like a log. Using my full power for just that long looked to take it out of her.” he answered.

“Ray, come with us.” Pyra told him.

“Huh?”

“We’re going to teach you a secret to slowly easing into using full power. In theory it’ll work even though Kirin lacks the potential to be a Driver.” Pyra giggled.

“Oh, that trick.” Mythra nodded.

He followed them to the town outskirts where they began having him perform different flame exercises. The lessons were in how to better control his fire, the implication being that if he can control fire then he can control himself. He was to keep the fire between his hands going without letting it go out, but Pyra and Mythra would be generating wind to try and snuff it out. The goal is to strengthen control so the fire won’t go out of control when trying to resist the wind. You shouldn’t increase power more than you need, but too little is no better than having done nothing at all.

In their examples, he was to think of Kirin as the flame he was making. As his Driver, she needs to be able to withstand the power being granted to her. Too much power will cause her to “go out of control”, causing the blowback effect. Too little, however, will only harm her in the long run. He instead needs to build her strength and resilience by incrementally introducing her to the intensity of his power. It would be up to him to control the intensity of his flame - be strong, but never in excess of what is needed.

When morning came it was time to take Gramps back to New Mor Ardain. Thankfully the Titan they live on, the immense Daedalus, was nearby. It only took them half a day to reach there as opposed to the trip there. Once Gramps was docked, the group reported to the audience hall. To their surprise Morag had returned, though she had bandages on her torso visible here and there.

“Morag, you’re back!” Kirin gasped, rushing to her.

“Easy. I’m still recovering, but I’m at least well enough to be walking about.” Morag smiled.

“What happened?” Rex asked, approaching.

“Long story short, your friend there broke my ribs. I was bedridden for a while, but I’ve gathered back some strength. Unfortunately, until I’ve fully recovered I’m forbidden from taking the battlefield.” Morag explained.

“I want to know this story.” Mythra stated.

“We have more important business though.” Pyra brought up.

“Your Majesty, has Ventus returned yet?” Ray asked.

“He has. His Driver is receiving medical attention for her arms, so he won’t be going anywhere for a while.” Niall answered.

“Where is he right now?” Ray demanded.

“I believe waiting for her treatment to end in the infirmary.” Niall replied, almost startled by his insistence.

While Rex, Pyra, and Mythra explained the situation to Niall the rest rushed to the infirmary. There Ventus was sitting in a chair looking very glum.

“Ventus!” Ray shouted, skidding to a stop by his side.

“Back already…?” Ventus sighed.

“I heard what happened to Siren. We’re in the same boat.” Ray told him.

“Same boat…? Same boat?! Do you know how bad I harmed her?! Her fingertips to her shoulders were pitch black and red! Tell me how just burning your Driver’s palms is even close to the same league!” Ventus roared, getting to his feet to grab his shirt.

“I took the weapon away from Kirin, so odds are that if I left it in her hands any longer she’d have gotten worse. You’re mad at yourself for underestimating your own power, so don’t take it out on me.” Ray scowled, forcing his hand down.

“Kyvernitis did this.” Curtis spoke up.

“What do you mean?” Ray asked.

“The arte he used was likely ‘Monado Overdrive’. It forces both parties to release the full extent of their power, ripping control from you, causing all kinds of effects to occur. He used it on me and Nue once. I wasn’t able to control Nue’s power because I was inexperienced at the time. If it does that to a regular Blade, imagine what it’d do to an Aegis that on average has a hundred times the power of normal Blades. It’s one of his trump cards.” Curtis explained.

“Who are you? Some kind of Kyvernitis expert?” Ventus huffed.

“I’ve been chasing him a while, so I know a little. Kyvernitis has a habit of underestimating his foes, and so he has trump cards for if someone exceeds those low expectations. Monado Disruptor, Monado Absorb, and his last line of defense Monado Overdrive. He can’t use the first two on Aegis Class Blades it seems, and resorting to Overdrive would leave him vulnerable once its effects wear off if you manage to overcome the surge of power.” Curtis explained.

“Ventus. Our moms are here too. You should talk to them while you have the chance.” Ray smiled.

“Tch… fine…” he grumbled.

The group returned to the audience hall with Ventus in tow and the air in the room seemed somewhat better than before. 

“Something happen?” Ray asked.

“A decision has been reached. Aegis Blade Ray, Inspector Kirin Lansguard, Curtis Maxwell, Nue: will you be envoys of New Mor Ardain? We have decided that in order to combat Kyvernitis we must employ the power of every Aegis Class Blade available. That being said, we cannot move this plan forward without approval from the other nations of the world. You must speak with the rulers of Uraya, Tantal, Gormott, and New Indol to convince them to agree to the plan. This matter concerns the world, so they must be brought up to speed on it.” Niall explained to them.

“What do we do if they don’t agree to it…?” Kirin asked.

“Negotiate. Rulers like that sort of thing.” Rex smiled.

“Travel could be a bit difficult…” Kirin spoke, tapping her foot in thought.

“What do you mean? You’ll be taking the Ratatosk.” Niall smiled.

“T-The prototype vessel that runs without a Titan?! We’re really going to use such a high profile ship?!” she exclaimed.

“It was designed with intentions of peace, so what better mission for its maiden voyage than delivering envoys to protect the world to their destination?” Niall nodded.

When the meeting concluded the group moved to the hangar where their vessel awaited. A grand ship made of black and red metal was waiting for them. Boarding the ship they saw Mor Ardain soldiers loading cargo amongst other things. Waiting on the bridge were a few officers.

“Captain Padraig, at yer service, ma’am! Our unit has been put in charge of manning the Ratatosk. The ship’s ready to go at any time.” the apparent leader spoke, saluting Kirin, making her flinch.

“M-My service…?” Kirin swallowed nervously.

“Yes ma’am. This ship goes where you desire and does as you please.” Padraig nodded.

“I’m not used to this kind of authority…” Kirin whimpered.

“Ship’s ready to sail, right? I think we should start with Indol. They’re the Center of Blade Distribution right? If they support using the Aegis Class Blades then maybe the other continents will be a little more willing to listen.” Ray suggested.

“Considering Gormott and Uraya won’t even see us unless another nation talks to them…? After what happened with the war, subjugation, and land appropriation before suddenly pulling out, they really do not like Mor Ardain.” Curtis sighed, shaking his head.

“I can imagine the time Ven had when he and Siren went to Gormott then…” Ray groaned.

“Indol is really looking like our best option then. There’s Tantal, but knowing their king we’ll want the approval of the other nations first.” Kirin nodded.

“Do we have a consensus?” Ray asked.

“Indol it is.” Curtis shrugged.

“Ahem. Set a course for Indol!” Kirin ordered.

“All hands on deck, lads! We’ve got our orders! Destination: New Indol!” Padraig cried.

Before long the ship began setting sail. While in transit the group decided to explore the Ratatosk. Mor Ardain’s ships are usually large, and the Ratatosk was no different it seemed. The mess halls, the barracks for the crew, and the cargo hold were all nicely made. Eventually they found the captain’s quarters. On the desk was a holographic map of the cloud sea, showing where the continental titans were currently at. It even told them the tide they’re currently in. New Indol looked to be hanging around Leftheria. All that left to explore was the engine room.

The room was massive, with countless nopon and humans working on the incredibly huge engines. Padraig was there and looked to be having an argument with one of the workers. A Gormotti girl with long braided brown hair. She wore black work boots, light orange overalls tucked into her boots with one strap hanging off her shoulder, a black tank top, and thick leather work gloves.

“I’m telling you, da’, I don’t need any surpervisin’. I’m a grown woman now and chief engineer, for mum’s sake.” she stamped her foot, looking frustrated.

“Yer only seventeen, lass. You won’t be an adult till yer nineteen.” Padraig huffed.

“By Gormott laws I’m an adult.” she argued.

“Well you weren’t born on Gormott now were ye? Mor Ardainian law states ye aren’t an adult till nineteen years of age.” Padraig crossed his arms.

“I swear, you just aren’t ready for your little girl to be grown up.” she growled.

“Did we come at a bad time…?” Ray asked, getting their attention.

“Ahem! Cap’n, this is Muriel, my daughter. She's the head engineer of the Ratatosk, you got a question or something that needs fixin’ and she’s on it. Impressive for a lass her age, isn’t it? Jewel of the engineerin’ industry they call her. Once she graduated engineering school she got offers from all continents lookin’ to recruit her fer her skills.” Padraig introduced her.

“Never miss an opportunity to gush, do you, da’...?” Muriel groaned, shaking her head with her hands on her hips.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Kirin nodded.

“So you’re the diplomatic envoys then? Good luck getting His Holiness to agree to the plan. The Praetor has been an elusive man even before he was given his title, seldom appearing even when summoned.” Muriel told them.

“Why?” Ray asked.

“I don’t know for sure. Only heard rumors. Some say his heart is broken, others say he’s too engrossed in praying to bother with his duties. They say only his secretary knows for sure.” she replied, shrugging.

“Only one way to find out if he’ll see us.” Curtis shrugged.

“It’ll still be a day before we arrive, ma’am. Might I interest you in the on-board hot spring to take a load off?” Padraig offered the group.

“Hot spring?” Ray questioned.

“You’ve never been in one, Ray?” Nue asked.

“Nope. Back in Fonsett all we’ve got are the normal showers and baths.” he shook his head.

“You’re in for a treat then. They’re very relaxing.” Kirin smiled.

They were shown to the spring and explained the two baths are separated by gender. In the men’s bath, Curtis couldn’t help staring at Ray’s core crystal.

“Something up?” Ray asked him.

“Sorry. It’s just that your core crystal really is strikingly similar to the one in Kyvernitis. The shape, I mean.” Curtis replied.

“I noticed it too. He’s a True Aegis like me and my family. Do you think maybe we have power close to his dormant in us somewhere?” Ray asked.

“Who knows? We don’t know everything there is to know about Aegis Blades, so it’s possible.” Curtis shrugged.

“So Curtis… your sister is definitely kidnapped right? She isn’t willingly helping Kyvernitis is she?” Ray asked.

“Of course she is. She was kicking and screaming when he took her. She… she must have a very good reason to be… at least complicit with him. She has to… right…?” Curtis replied, looking unsure.

“You know your sister better than anyone, right? So you should know how she thinks.” Ray smiled.

“Yeah. There’s no way she’d agree with destroying the world after it finally reached a stabilizing point.” he nodded.

In the women’s bath, at the same time…

“Kirin, just between us women, how do you feel about your partner?” Nue asked her.

“Huh?!” she exclaimed, going red.

“Come on, Ray’s quite good looking and is a nice guy to boot. It isn’t unnatural in today’s age for Blades and humans to date.” Kirin smirked.

“I-I never considered it! I don’t even know everything about Ray!” she cried, flustered at the idea.

“Consider the bond between Blade and Driver. In a way isn’t it like a committed relationship? We Blades tend to hold our Drivers close to our cores not unlike a lover or family member. I can’t speak for Ray’s feelings, but I can definitely tell you how his parents feel about each other. Ray is the product of a Human-Blade couple, after all.” Nue explained.

“I think we should focus more on our duty as envoys, personally.” Kirin groaned, sinking into the water a bit.

“Love often blooms on a journey, Kirin.” Nue giggled.

“What about you? How do you feel about Curtis?” Kirin attempted to fire back.

“I love him. With all my being. He’s clumsy, hotheaded, stubborn, impatient, and a little mean at times… but he’s also sweet, caring, compassionate, and driven in what he loves.” Nue giggled, a beaming smile on her face.

“I see…” Kirin mumbled, sinking a bit deeper.

After bathing the group seemed quite refreshed. It was growing late, so the group decided to retire to their rooms. It took some doing, but Kirin eventually managed to fall asleep.

Elsewhere, in New Indol… priests and priestesses were praying and chanting hymns. An Urayan woman with long red hair was making her way through the immense cathedral trying not to disturb mass. She exited the main room into the back chambers and then descended below ground. Soon she arrived at a private sanctum and used a key to get inside. Inside was a single pale, tall, thin man with shoulder length flat black hair. His clothing alone spoke to his rank.

“Why do you disturb me…?” he asked.

“Our spies have received word that Mor Ardain is sending envoys to speak with you. It is about…  _ him _ .” she replied, looking at a large ornate black and purple spear that was hanging on the wall.

“Fools… they have no idea what he’s capable of…” the man growled, clenching his fists.

“Shall I have New Indol dive to evade them?” she asked.

“No. Let them come. If His Majesty will not listen then perhaps his envoys will heed my warning.” he replied.


End file.
